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PennsylvaniaJaryland and Virginia 

' !'iil'lif'l»Hlln|',.nnis,si„M 

Boston CROSBY* NICHOLS 

■•I" .,r .\l,|,.. 




THE 



POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



ARMY NOTES, 

FROM THE FAILURE AT WINCHESTER TO THE 
REENFORCEMEKT OF ROSECRANS. 

1861-3. 



V 



ALONZO H^Vf^UINT, 

CHAPLAIN OF THE SECOND MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY. 



BOSTON: 
CROSBY AND NICHOLS 
NEW YORK: O. S. FELT. 
1864. 




•3> 






Kntered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1804, by 

ALONZO H. QUINT, 

In tbe Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



ELECTROTTPED AT THE 

Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
No. 4 Spring Lane. 



I DEDICATE THIS A^ O L XJ MI E 

TO THE 

Wxuz anb- (faithful M'dt, 

WHO HAS NOBLY BORNE, FOE HER COUNTRY'S SAKE, THE PAIN OF LONG 

SEPARATION, AND THE CARE OF CHILDREN, AND WHO STILL. 

PATIENTLY WAITS FOR HER HUSBAND'S RETURN ; 

ONE OF THE THOUSANDS OF BRAVE WOMEN 

WHOSE HEARTS SUFFER IN THIS 

SACRED WAR. 



PREFACE. 



When I had tlie good fortune, in the spring of the year 
1861, to be appointed Chaplain of the Second Massachusetts 
Infantry, I was asked by the proprietors of the Congrega- 
tionalist to become a correspondent of that paper. I did 
so ; and have written, Avith tolerable regularity, ever since. 
The Letters, so furnished, foi-m the basis of the present 
volume. 

This book is, however, far from being a mere reprint. 
I have omitted much ; and I have also added much from 
private notes, especially of facts, which could not properly 
be made public at the time of their occurrence. I have 
revised the whole as carefully as the very limited time 
at my disposal will allow. 

In no sense do these pages assume to be a history. They 
contain merely the frankest record of impressions received 
by an eye witness, of places and scenes in our eventful 
campaigns ; while, of my peculiar duties, I have never 
avoided nor intruded mention. Friends have urged me to 



C PREFACE. 

believe that these observations may be worth adding, in 
this more permanent form, to the materials of the future 
historian. 

If any one discovers a change of feeling, from that of 
political antagonism to the administration (generally ob- 
scure, of course), to that of hearty confidence in the ability, 
honesty, and Avisdom of its present head, I am not careful 
to deny it. Regretting deeply some acts, yet I wonder only 
that public affairs have been conducted so well, and promise 
so auspiciously. 

A somewhat parallel work, — the Record of the Second 
Massachusetts Infantry, — though covering the same cam- 
paigns, will prove to have an entirely different scope. 

I acknowledge my great indebtedness to the scholarly 
taste and accuracy of my friend, Mr. Samuel Burnham, 
of Boston, for his assistance in my absence. The index, 
also, is entirely his work. 

Camp of the Second Massachusetts Infantry, 
Akjiy of the Cumberland, March, 1864. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

THE FAILUKE AT WINCHESTER, 9-35 

CHAPTER II. 
TO CONRAD'S FERRY AND RETURN, .... 36-61 

CHAPTER III. 
LIFE NEAR FREDERICK TOWN, ..... 62-97 

CHAPTER lY.. 
IN THE VALLEY, ........ 98-149 

CHAPTER Y. 
THE RETREAT AND THE RETURN, .... 150-101 

CHAPTER YI. 
MOVEMENTS UNDER GENERAL POPE, .... 163-184 

CHAPTER VII. 
CEDAR MOUNTAIN, 185-194 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
POPE'S KETREAT, 195-209 

CHAPTER IX. 
THE ANTIETAM AUTUMN, . . . . " . . 210-239 

CHAPTER X. 
THE FREDERICKSBURG WINTER, . . . . . 240-276 

CHAPTER XI. 
THE PREPARATION SPRING, 276-295 

CHAPTER XII. 
TO CHANCELLORVILLE AND RETURN, .... 296-330 

CHAPTER XIII. 
ON THE RAPIDAN, 337-351 

CHAPTER XIV. 
FROM THE RAPIDAN TO THE TENNESSEE, . . . 352-378 

CHAPTER XV. 
LIFE IN TENNESSEE, 379-398 



THE 



POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE FAILURE AT WINCHESTER. 

Near Darnestown, Md., September 6, 1861. 

You think it strange that I do not write. But I remem- 
ber that machinery used to suffer more by standing still a 
few months, than it would have done from the wear of use ; 
and that, when started, it ran heavily till the dust and dirt 
worked out and off. The very oil that had lubricated the 
bearings hardened into a hinderance. 

HoAV could you expect, then, my mental machinery to start 
into smooth running, after a few weeks of such change as 
that from a quiet village pastorate to the life of a camp, and 
the total cessation of all writing save the hasty epistles to a 
fcAV, very few friends, to revered and beloved father and 
mother, and to the two, mother and child, whose faces are 
first in thought at morn, and last at night? It used to take 
time to get into writing order after returning from one's 
summer vacation ; if that so diverted the mind from its usual 
current, how much greater the effect where reveille wakes 

(9) 



10 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

one at morning dawn, where guard-mounting, parade, drill, 
and scouting are the day's history, and where tattoo and 
taps are the last sound before sleep — save when hostile shots 
call for more sentries, or the long roll starts every soldier to 
arms ; where the very Sabbath morn is the hour for weekly 
inspection ; where one's congregation is marshalled by the 
drum-beat, and marches by companies, with soldierly tread, 
to the grove of Avorship, to stand or sit in ranks, and where 
your very choir is detailed by orders, like a picket guard ! 
Nor are you to forget that the comforts of civilization are not 
always at hand. You sit at a comfortable desk, and have a 
good pen (pi'ovided it is quill) , and an inkstand. / seldom 
see ink, as a fluid. I sit now on a bundle of straw. I hold 
my paper on my knees. A canvas shields me from the 
pouring rain. On my door there is no such ingenious catch 
as guards your sanctum (partly because I have no door), 
and no man is barred from the chaplain's tent. My time is 
occupied. We are continually moving. Imagine, therefore, 
the difiiculty of vsa'iting. 

And now, when I am virtuously determined, what shaU I 
write about? War? I have no engagements to describe. 
We have been in an enemy's land, it is true, and our sentinels 
have been fired upon night after night. We took our place 
in a noble column of twenty thousand men, burning to fight, 
but, within ten nrfks of the enemy, our general, like a King 
of France, — 

"With twice ten thousand men, 
Marched up a hill, and then marched down again, — 

and left Johnston to go unchecked to fatal Manassas. But 
no bloody scenes have we yet experienced, though the bullets 
are restless in our muskets. 

I could write of leaving home ; of a dear church still in 



A CHAPLAIN'S POSITION. 11 

memory ; of the crowd and hurrahs which speeded us ; of the 
last hand-shake at the railway with as dear a friend as pastor 
or man ever had ; of a little note received there, now treas- 
ured near the heart ; of the curve which hid the eight years' 
home at last ; of the real ovation in New York ; of a long, 
wearying journey, night and day, across New Jersey, sweep- 
ing through Central Pennsylvania, meeting the fires of the 
iron fvirnaces at morning gray, dipping our hands and bathing 
our faces in the beautiful river of the Lehigh Valley, dashing 
doAvn the magnificent wheat-fields of the Cumberland Valley, 
across the lordly Susquehanna at Harrisburg, making no 
rest till Ave enter HagerstOAATi at midnight, there for the first 
time to meet pacing sentinels, and hear the peremptory 
" Halt ! " at every corner ; of the marching to the Potomac, 
camping a night by its waters, of fording at dawTi, entering 
Virginia ; of passing by old skirmish fields and deserted camps 
of rebellion ; of many a hard and toilsome march ; of camps 
where every man who slept slept upon his arms. And now 
we wait in readiness for whatever orders may come ; and 
when the fray comes, Massachusetts blood will be true. 

Of a chaplain's position I will wi'ite to-day, though with 
but a feAV months' experience. Could the opportunities for 
good here, and the strange fascinations of this strange life be 
felt, not a minister in Massachusetts but Avould long for these 
scenes. Our government did Avell to establish this office. 
Do not believe the burlesque Avhich describes a chaplain's 
position as useless or uncomfortable. He must meet hard- 
ships. Sometimes he may go hungry. Often, perhaps, he 
must make, with others, the ground his bed, with no cover- 
ing but the skies. Often will he be Avet and tired. But one 
Avith a good constitution draws only ncAV life from these 
things. He is invigorated ; and headaches are unknown ; 



12 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

and fastidiousness of appetite vanishes ; and fear of cold air 
ends. Sunburnt and rough he becomes, but he is the more 
a man. And the more a minister becomes a man^ the better 
he can fulfil his noble mission. 

There is every opportunity for usefulness. Our officers 
welcome every effort for the religious good of the regiment. 
Our men meet openly and frankly every advance which they 
feel comes from the heart. Every privilege a chaplain asks 
for (if he is wise enough to confine himself to his o^vn affairs, 
and regard the duties required of the men) is freely granted. 
"May I have evening prayer-meetings occasionally?" I 
asked of our colonel. " Certainly," said he, " every night 
in the week, if you wish." The hour or place of public wor- 
ship is at my own disposal. I have the freest entrance to 
every tent. I have the privileges of an officer Avithout his 
vexations. I have countersigns, and what is at present an 
exceptional case, I can cross the lines at pleasure. I dis- 
tribute such books and papers as I please. With much that 
is painful to meet, — pains of body and evils of conduct which 
jar upon the nerves, — yet the opportunity for good is abundant. 

Then there are special conditions which help usefulness. 
While it is impossible to know all the men, yet one is armed 
with many a letter from mothers and sisters. One learns 
the circumstances of many young men. The hospital makes 
acquaintance Avith the sick. The very care of post-office 
helping brings personal knowledge of mauy home ties. The 
discipline of a regiment, also, is favorable to the encourage- 
ment of good habits. The very rule of obedience to which 
all are bound, illustrates obedience to God. The necessary 
trust in commanders is a faint image of needed trust in God. 
The punishment of wrong strikes at the root of sickly ideas 
as to God's indifference to sin. And the constant change of 



OLD AND NEAV HABITS. 13 

place and of the kind of duty easily illustrates the faith of 
one Avho " went out not knowing Avhither he went." 

But the chief advantage is in the thorough breaking up of 
old associations and habits of life. New scenes have dis- 
placed the old. The old formality is ended. Intercourse 
between minister and soldier is free and familiar — far dif- 
ferent from that in the stereotyped localities where the pa- 
rishioner sleeps in his hired pew. An unknown freshness and 
life is the rule. The crust which grows over men at home 
is broken. Society is disintegi'ated ; it crystallizes in new 
forms. There is no time to settle into chronic dulness. 
Events are too rapid to allow of bondage to form. Men in 
proximity to danger are not insensible. Our New England 
men are not ashamed to acknowledge their need of God's 
help, and many a petition goes up in silence when they start 
on some expedition. 

It is not strange that one forgets entirely the momentous 
question whether Scripture should precede singing, or singing 
precede Scripture ; whether the congregation should, during 
singing, face the minister or the choir ; whether standing in 
prayer is a saving ordinance ; Avhether it is wicked for a 
minister to disuse the razor. All these things are vital, 
doubtless, at Ijome ; but here, where men have taken their 
lives in their hands at their country's call, such formalities 
seem trivial. Pardon me, if I suggest, also, that one forgets 
even his denomination, though far from forgetting the dear 
friends with Avhom he has taken sweet counsel. Whether 
immersion is better than sprinkling, or bishop than minister, 
or predestination than free-will, — all are swallowed up in 
the vital questions of life or death, God's favor or his frown, 
the broad Fatherhood, and the unity of discipleship. In such 
a changed life, written sermons are forgotten, and pulpits 
2 



14 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

are obsolete. The minister aucl a thousand men stuncl 
up face to face and heart to heai't, ignorant but that before 
another day the ranks may be thinned. 



Darnestown, Md. From notes of July 10-20, 18G1. 
We joined General Patterson's command on the 1 2th of July. 
It was a pleasant afternoon Avhen we entered Martinsb.urg, 
and found the road lined with soldiers who seemed to have no 
special occupation that day. Doubtless the men were brave 
men, but their less than three months' service, many of them 
under poor officers, had failed to give to many regiments a 
soldierly appearance. It seemed exactly as if everybody 
was bent on a holiday excursion. But the men were in the 
best spirits, and eager to do something in the fighting line. 
We camped with the rest, and began to " forage " for infor- 
mation. 

We learned that G-eneral Patterson's force had assembled at 
Chambersburg, where he took command about the first of 
June. He had advanced to near the Potomac about a fort- 
night afterward, and on the 16th of June crossed half or 
more of his force into Virginia by the AVilliamsport ford, but 
on the next day, or day after, had returned to the Maryland 
side. 

No further movement had been made until the 2d of July. 
On that day he recrossed into Virginia, meeting no opposition 
save from a few skirmishers. But at Falling Waters, a little 
stream five or six miles further on, he encountered sufficient 
force of the enemy to bring on a smart little action, in which 
he drove the enemy for two miles. When we passed over 
the road, ten days afterward, the broken fences and rem- 



TOWARD WINCHESTER. 15 

Hants of equipments thrown away in flight showed unmistaka- 
bly the rout of the rebels. General Patterson stopped pursuit, 
but on the next day entered Martinsburg without opposition. 

Nine days more had elapsed when our regiment joined the 
army at Martinsbm-g. Wonder was quite freely expressed 
that so much delay had taken place, both before leaving 
Maryland and after arriving at Martinsburg ; but this was 
only camp talk. Orders were issued, however, on the 14th, 
to be ready to move the next morning ; and the hills around 
Martinsburg were brilliantly lighted that evening by the fires 
where rations were being cooked for the march. It appeared 
high time that some movement was made, if the general ex- 
pected to use his men, as their three months' term was nearly 
ended, — our own regiment being, I think, the only three 
years' one in his command. The rebel General Johnston was 
well known to be between us and Winchester, and everybody 
was in excellent humor at the prospect of advance. 

We did move on Monday morning. The army was 
marched on two parallel roads. Huge wagon trains ac- 
companied us. Our forces were generally reckoned at about 
twenty thousand men. 

We reached Bunker Hill in the afternoon. If the enemy 
had been there, he had left before we reached the dirty ham- 
let. There were plenty of rumors that he was on a great 
variety of sides of us ; but if he was, he kept quiet. We 
bivouacked. Next day we heard stories of terrible obstruc- 
tions on the roads. Johnston, men said, was at Winchester, 
with^ibrty thousand men, sixty pieces of artillery, savage 
earthworks, and miles of rifle-pits. I do not think that any- 
body believed much of the talk ; certainly, everybody wanted 
to try the matter. 

And on Wednesday morning, we moved. It seemed that 



IG THE POTOmIc AND THE KAPJDAN. 

the hoperf uf the army were to be gratified. A little puzzled 
at first we were ; for wc took a road eastward, while Win- 
chester lay southward. But " we are going to flank them ; 
we go doAvn on another road, and avoid all the obstructions." 
So we went on, crossing a creek to which an old road, just 
repaired, led us. When, however, Ave turned toward Charles- 
town, and thus away from Winchester, perplexity was felt, 
and then displeasure. 

The idea generally held had been, that our object was to 
whip Johnston. But I had picked up the fact, from what an 
officer knew, and what his military experience told him 
ought to be, that General Patterson's movements were in 
correspondence with those of General McDowell in front of 
Washington, and that the recovery of Winchester was of 
little importance compared with the need of keeping Johnston 
there. I confess I could not see how that Avas to be done, 
but I do not understand strategy. 

How angry the men were on finding they were going to 
Charlestown ! They called it a retreat. From that moment 
they lost -confidence. 

Of proceedings at Charlestown I saw nothing, because 
our regiment was sent on the next day to occupy Harper's 
Ferry. We did so, and received a flag which the women 
had privately prepared to present to the first regiment of 
Union troops which should enter the town. 

The corps came on to Harper's Ferry on Sunday, the 21st. 
Then Ave learned that Johnston had left Winchester ; that 
General Patterson had appealed to the troops to remain 
beyond their term of service, and march on the enemy ; and 
that almost all had refused, on the ground that the time for 
advance had been thrown aAvay, and they would not serA'e 
under General Patterson. These were camp stories, it is true, 
but I think they Avere correct. 



REASONS OF FAILURE. 17 

Very ^oon, General Patterson was relieved. General 
Banks took command. His first act, I believe, was to cross 
to the Maryland side. The three months' men rapidly left. 
Of those still there the general knew the feeling perfectly. 
Three years' men came rapidly in. Colonel Gordon Avas 
continued in charge of the Ferry, and three companies of the 
Massachusetts Second were left on the Virginia side, under 
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews. There we lay, 
with that part of Virginia lost, until, in the latter part of 
August, the whole Corps moved to their present position. 

Many details have come to light, of course, in the nearly 
two years since the foregoing was noted do^ATi. Who was 
to blame, if blame existed, is a matter for military men to 
decide. The people were indignant then because their ex- 
pectations were not fulfilled ; so was the Corps, because not 
led against the enemy. It seems settled that General 
McDowell would have conquered at Bull Run, but for the 
few thousand men which, led by General Johnston, reenforced 
the I'ebel army. General Patterson, it was alleged, wasted 
time, both north of the Potomac and at Winchester. I have 
stated already that the same feeling prevailed in his com- 
mand. He declared that he waited for transportation, and 
also for harnesses for the artillery horses, Avhile north of the 
river, and that at Martinsburg he was actually keeping 
Johnston at Winchester. That he recrossed the Potomac 
on the 16th of June, he insists, was necessary, because Gen- 
eral Scott took away at that time all his regulars and some 
other troops, and left him without a single piece of artillery, 
in front of superior forces. His turning off at Charlestown, he 
says, was only in pursuance of a plan, previously assented to 
in Washington, to abandon the long Williamsport line of 
supplies, and secure Harper's Ferry as his base. But that 
2* 



18 THP: POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

that was approved as an earlier project, aud not as a re- 
treat, seems clear. He believed in the stories of large forces 
at Winchester, Avhich hardly another man probably did. 
The ti'uth has appeared that Johnston could never have had 
over fifteen thousand men, even if more than twelve. Gen- 
eral Patterson's force, by his own estimate, was eighteen 
thousand and two hundred effective men, consisting of seven- 
teen and a half Pennsylvania regiments, five New York, and 
one each from New Hampshire, Massachusetts (three years) , 
Indiana, and Wisconsin, — averaging six hundred and fifty 
men each, — with one thousand cavalry and artillery. On 
the day we left Martinsburg, the three months' men had from 
four days to nearly a month to serve, two thirds having less 
than a fortnight. Most of these, it is true, Avere raw troops ; 
but so were Johnston's. 

When General Patterson left Bunker Hill, on the 17th, 
he thought he had accomplished what was expected of him ; 
namely, the detaining of Johnston at Winchester until after the 
date assigned by General Scott for the advance of McDowell, 
the 16th. A longer experience in the field would perhaps 
have forbade his depending on a promised date of a battle 
yet to be fought. Whether, however, he could have detained 
Johnston at Winchester, puzzles an ordinary thinker. How 
any " demonstration " could have kept Johnston from leaving 
that town any time he chose, is hard to see. For Winches- 
ter was exactly between the position of General Patterson 
and the point of railway Johnston would aim at to go to 
Manassas. The rebels cared nothing for Winchester. Bull 
Run was the important place. To threaten Winchester 
would not keep a rebel army there. If Patterson approached 
Winchester on one side, Johnston could certainly march off 
on the other, which was the way to Manassas. 



THE RESULT. 19 

Whether General Patterson should have attacked AYiu- 
chester at an earlier date, is another question. He thought 
it a useless attempt. We now know that the forces there 
were small, and that the defences were contemptible. But 
he did not believe so then ; and able officers agreed with him. 
We have no right to judge a commander by data we now 
have, but which he could not then have. 

I have heard able military men say that Patterson's posi- 
tion was wrong from the beginning ; that he should have 
occupied Harper's Ferry early, securing rapid supplies, and 
have taken position to command the Shenandoah fords. 
Then, if Johnston moved towards Manassas, he must have 
exposed himself gi'eatly ; or, General Patterson, if he pre- 
ferred, could have reached Bull Run as early, at least, as 
Johnston. But of this matter I am not competent to speak. 
Certain it is, that on the day when Patterson turned back to 
Charlestown, Johnston, who appears to have been doing pre- 
cisely what Patterson was sent to do, — detain his enemy in 
the valley, — was satisfied that he had succeeded, and imme- 
diately started for Bull Run. 



Neak Darnestown, Md., September, 21, 1861. 
Three weeks have passed away since we encamped on this 
spot, — how many of us I ndust not tell, though probably the 
enemy know with sufficient accuracy, from the traitors with 
which this section abounds. There is no harm in saying, 
however, that while General McClellan is in command of 
this whole " Army of the Potomac," the immediate charge 
of the ti'oops this side of Tenuallytown (a few miles north of 
Georgetown) is divided between General Banks — in whose 



20 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

division we arc — and Brigadier-General St( ne, Avho is 
located further up the river. Thus the north bank of the 
Potomac is lined with a fine army. As it becomes evident 
that the enemy may cross, if cross at all, above Washington, 
our position becomes important. On the opposite bank are 
rebel troops in plenty, with Avhom ours exchange various 
kinds of courtesies, sometimes with good-natured greetings, 
sometimes with crashing shot and bursting shell, or with the 
Enfield minies, which leap a mile or so at a jump. In such 
a neighborhood, we are by no means indifierent, when there 
comes, as it did last night at two o'clock, " Be ready for the 
field at a moment's notice." We Avere ready ; the muskets 
of the Massachusetts Second are never out of order ; its car- 
tridge-boxes are full ; its courage is always high ; its order 
perfect ; its bearing stahvart, firm, and solid ; its material 
active, hardy, and brave, — embracing old soldiers of the 
Mexican and of the Florida wars, of the English army, of the 
European Continent, of Sebastopol (both Russian and Eng- 
lish), and of the noble Havelock in his march to Liickuow ; 
its officers able and educated ; its commander a graduate of 
West Point, nine years in the army, a soldier in Kansas, in 
the Oregon Avilds, and through the war which led our victo- 
rious troops to the city of Mexico, — still bearing in his 
body the Mexican lead. The regiment drills hours every 
day, Avaiting the hoped-for opportunity to show in action 
what it can do. 

Our regiment is still in the Second Brigade (General 
Abercrombie's), with the First Pennsylvania Battery, the 
TAvelfth and Sixteenth Indiana, and the excellent Twelfth 
Massachusetts, Avhich last has just marched (by night) to a 
spot still nearer the river. Other brigades are around us. 
A system of signals is aa'cII organized. The telegraph is 



A SOLDIER'S FUNERAL. 21 

ueai'ly established. Any attempt on the part of rebels to 
cross the river will precipitate upon them a vigilant and 
hardy army. 

The ordinary routine of campaigning of course goes on. 
We have few hardships ; the food is good and abundant now ; 
the climate is delightful ; there is little sickness. 

But this routine is sometimes changed. It was to-day. 
lu the midst of active di-ill, the step ceased, the bugles were 
silent, the ranks took their iron position. It was when the 
band of another regiment passed by, pouring out their melan- 
choly wailing for the dead. It was a soldier's funeral, and 
among the thousands in our camps, there was a reverent 
silence. 

My thoughts went back to the first funeral at which I had 
officiated. It was at Harper's Ferry, while our regiment occu- 
pied that post. There had been brought into our hospital a 
soldier of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania, — then on its way home 
at the expiration of its three months' service, — whom that 
regiment left with us one afternoon as they passed through 
the place. That evening, as I passed at a late hour through 
the hospital, I noticed this new face, and on inquiry found 
the facts. He was sick with typhoid fever, very sick. Little 
more than a boy in years, he was to me, then, nameless, not 
one of ours, but he was a suiFering soldier, and may God 
bless every one of such. I did not press him to speak, but 
he recognized the name of our Saviour, and looked up as if 
waiting to hear. It was too late to question, too late for human 
comfort. I dared say little, but I could not but think that 
some friends, father, mother, perhaps a yet closer one, whom 
I never saAV, and doubtlejfs never shall see, whose very resi- 
dence I know nothing of, might be glad to know that some 
of the blessed promises of our Lord were whispered in his ear, 



22 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIUAN. 

and that a few words of prayer asked for the soul of this 
dying man, whose hand I held, the favor of our Father and 
our Saviour. That night he died. 

He was buried the next evening in the way of soldiers, 
which, to one unaccustomed to the sight, is deeply interesting. 
A suitable escort (for a private, eight rank and file, properly 
commanded) is formed in two ranks opposite to the tent of 
the deceased, with shouldered arms and bayonets unfixed ; on 
the appearance of the cofiin the soldiers present arms. The 
procession then forms, on each side of the coffin being three 
bearers, without arms ; immediately preceding are the eight 
soldiers, with arms reversed (the musket under the left arm, 
barrel downward, and steadied by the right hand behind the 
back) ; in front is the music, than whose dirge no sadder 
sounds ever fell upon my ear, as they procecfd to the place of 
burial. With slow and measured step, and mufiled drum, 
they move. At the grave, the coffin is placed upon oiie side, 
the soldiers resting upon their arms, the muzzle upon the foot, 
the hands clasped upon the butt, and the head bowed upon 
the hands. The chaplain, who has Avalked in the rear of the 
coffin, conducts the burial service ; " eai'th to earth, ashes to 
ashes, dust to dust." Three volleys are fired over the grave, 
and the last kindness to the comrade is over. The graveyard 
left, immediately the band strike up a cheerful air, and take 
their Avay back to camp and to living duties. 

It was thus we buried the stranger soldier. He had no 
friend who knew him there. No kindred wept by the side 
of the grave. His bed was made alone, in a deserted grave- 
yard, on the bold cliff that overlooks the two rivers united in 
the mighty stream which pours its aflluence into the Atlantic. 
But the soldiers subdued Jlieir roughness, and laid him down 
tenderly. The frequent oath was unheard. The solemn 



MILITARY PREPARATIONS. 23 

silence was scarcely broken by the low words of command. 
When the sharp volleys echoed up and down the valleys, the 
shadows had already fallen on the lordly rivers, the Potomac 
and Shenandoah, rolling by, far below us ; but the gorgeous 
evening sunlight was richly clothing the dark green forests of 
both Maryland and Virginia heights, towering over us. His 
grave was cut in a hard and rocky soil ; but out of that soil 
the evergreen Avas thriving and the wild flowers perfumed the 
air. It was on the very day his regiment was mustered 
out of service, that we biu'ied him ; and turning backward 
to our fragile homes, we found the order already given, " Ready 
to march ; " and soon we struck our tents, and forded the dark 
and foaming river which separated the rebel from the loyal 
state. He had forded a darker and rougher river, which, 
we hoped as we left him, no longer kept him in a world of 
sin, and out of the land of perfect peace. 

And so will throngs be buried, in this sad and mournful 
war. But out of the great clouds of private sorrow will rise 
the triumph of our country's glory. 



Near Darnestown, Md., September 27, 1861. 
No movements have yet taken place here, beyond the oc- 
casional arrival and departure of regiments, and a now and 
then change of camp of some regiments. It is whispered that 
an advance may be made within a few weeks ; but that silent 
man who wields the order of the army of the Potomac gives 
no sign. Intense activity prevails, however. Drill, drill, 
drill ; and now the battalion drill is performed with knapsacks 
as if for march, by which the men are becoming prepared for 
the time Avlien tents and wagons are left behind in camp, and 



24 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

they meet the foe face to face. Officers are hinted to with 
reference to the pr6priety of their having haversacks also, 
capacious enough for a few days' rations against the time 
when board will be scarce. All sorts of rumors fly around, 
and every new regiment expects to land directly into battle. 
But a little experience induces a cool distrust in everything 
except absolute oi'ders to march, especially in a regiment like 
ours, which is, I believe, the oldest in service here, having 
had the felicity to form part of " Patterson's Column," Avhich, 
to new regiments, seems antediluvian. 

To-day is a rainy day. It drizzles a Avhile, it pours a while, 
and then, by way of variety, pours and drizzles. AU drill is 
suspended. Men stay in their tents, — barring the luckless 
fellows who pace up and down in overcoats, with muskets 
reversed, — relieved, however, every two hours, for another 
batch to get wet. Only the necessary duties of camp go on. 
In their tents some men read ; some write (often affectionate 
epistles — as their care to keep the sheet hidden shows) ; some 
mend trousers and such things ; some sing ; some gamble 
(which is not made an offence by the articles of war) , and by 
w^hich some of our men are stripped of every cent by expe- 
rienced sharpers — poor moths, who will fly into the candle in 
spite of all remonstrance, though some have been saved. 
Some draw great enjoyment from tobacco smoke, their remedy 
for various ills. The sutler drives a brisk business in ginger- 
bread, lemons, nuts, confectionery, and such like. And so 
the day wears on, not dismally to them, nor without oppor- 
tunities of usefulness, to which the rain is no obstacle when 
one has rubber coat, leggings, cap, and cape. 

The ordinary routine of the day in camp is this : at twenty 
minutes past sunrise the reveille is beaten, drum echoing to 
drum, till regiment after regiment is again a hive of busy life. 



CAMP ROUTINE. 25 

Roll call immediately follows, every man in company line. 
At seven o'clock the drum and fife announce breakfast, 
which cooks permanently detailed for each company have 
been preparing. At half past seven is sick call, when the 
surgeon meets all soldiers not able to be out. At eight 
o'clock is guard mounting, which is quite a display. The 
band are in position at their ordinary place for dress parade. 
At their music a detail numbering, at present, one lieuten- 
ant, one sergeant, four corporals, and seventy-two privates, 
marches to the pai'ade. The line is formed, the arms are in- 
spected, and appearance noted. The men are then marched 
in review, and then one " relief" (there are three) to 
the post of each sentinel, where, after various useful, but 
to me mysterious conferences, the old sentinel is relieved, 
takes his place in the rear, and a new one is stationed ; and so 
on around the camp. The old guard discharge their pieces, 
and are dismissed, each one having been, for the twenty-four 
hours, two hours on guard and four oiF in every six — a post 
of honor and of grave responsibility. To sleep on his post 
hazards the penalty of death. 

Then, in decent weather, at nine o'clock the music sounds 
for company drill, — each company by itself, — when all kinds 
of queer manoeuvres are gone through for an hour and a half. 
At one o'clock is dinner. At three P. M. is battalion drill, 
when the regiment drills under a field ofiicer, with a brisk- 
ness and life probably pleasanter to see than to experience. 
This lasts an hour and a half. At twenty minutes before 
five is the first call for evening parade ; twenty minutes are 
devoted to the minute inspection of arms and equipments ; 
and at five o'clock is the dress parade, the great show of the 
day. At six P. M. is supper. At half past eight tattoo is 
beaten, and the roll called; at nine o'clock "taps" on the 
3 



26 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

drum signalize " lights out ! " And after this only the soli- 
tary step of pacing sentinels, with now and then a challenge 
and response, or perhaps the gallop of an orderly with some 
despatch to the commander, breaks the stillness of the night. 
We have no locks on our doors ; but one feels secure enough 
with eighty sentries around the camp, and a thousand bay- 
onets at hand, with yet other regiments and sentries still 
circling outside, and with mounted men scouring the land 
for miles in every direction. 

The President's Fast Day, yesterday, was appropriately 
regarded. An order from General Banks called attention to 
it, and directed its observance. It was a day of rest from 
drill, in fact from all work which could be dispensed with. 
The most noticeable feature of the day was the public service, 
held in a beautiful field near the little village of Darnestown, 
whither all the regiments in this immediate locality proceeded 
in full uniform, and with arms. It was a beavxtiful sight, when 
from many different camps the several regiments marched 
toward the field, some on the open road, some winding 
through the woods, all with their music. Each Avas assigned 
to its place in the most orderly way, until thousands upon 
thousands stood in a dense mass. A platform held the vari- 
ous chaplains, the commanding general, and many of his 
officers of rank. The sight from this elevation was beauti- 
ful. The green wood skirted the field at a short distance on 
the right. The little village lay quietly in front. Directly 
before the platform were the solid ranks of infantry, reaching 
far right and left and in front, with cavalry on the one flank 
and artillery on the other. The multitude of banners, the 
motionless posture of men, the thousands standing in com- 
pact array, the glittering of the sunlight on a forest of bay- 
onets, the firm and devout air, with the reflection that in a 



FAST DAY SERVICE. 27 

few days this mass of soldiery might be hurled upon the 
enemy, — many, alas ! in human probability, never more to 
return, — could but inspire a beholder with mingled feelings 
of delight and sorrow. 

The services were these : The President's Proclamation 
was read by Chaplain Gaylord, of the Thirteenth Massachu- 
setts ; Chaplain Reed, of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania, offered 
the prayer of invocation ; Chaplain Sewall, of the Twenty- 
ninth Pennsylvania, read selections of Scripture, and the 
hymn, " My country, 'tis of thee," in which the united bands 
led the voices of the soldiers ; Chaplain Phillips, of the Ninth 
New York, offered prayer, and led in the Lord's Prayer ; the 
Chaplain of the Second Massachusetts read the Army Hymn, 
— which was sung to " Old Hundred," in a majestic style, — • 
and he made the address (or sermon, it may be) for the 
day ; and Chaplain Lasher, of the Fifth Connecticut, offered 
the concluding prayer, and after the doxology, pronounced 
the benediction. The topic of the address, after an intro- 
duction alluding to our peculiar need of God's help, was, 
" The cause in which we are enlisted is a cause on which 
we can hopefully ask God's blessing " — the cause of gov- 
ernment against anarchy, of government against an unpro- 
voked rebellion, of a government forbearing to the last 
moment, of a government rebelled against because its instinc- 
tive principle is Liberty, by traitors whose sole moving prin- 
ciple is Slavery. 

One could hardly realize the change from quiet home wor- 
ship to the gathering in one service of a whole division of 
the army. But when the commanders had sprung to their 
saddles, tlie rattling of sabres had ceased, the rumbling of 
artillery wheels had passed out of hearing, the dancing ban- 
ners had disappeared, — then reveries of home came back, 



28 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

and faces of parishiouers, aud laughing eyes of children, and 
the mental photograph of tried and faithful friends, whom 
may God bless. 



Camp near Darnestown, Md., October 5, 18G1. 
In the absence of special news, why shall I not recall such 
rambling reminiscences as have outlasted our several later 
marches, regarding the places where John Brown acted and 
suffered ? The movements of pur regiment, it happened, led 
us to every spot memorable for his transactions ; and there 
were few whose interests did not lead them to examine these 
localities. Why not? It is true that when one remembers 
the general disapproval with which the sober judgment of 
the North answered that startling raid, it seems strange that 
a Northern regiment should march through New York, with 
a thousand voices singing that peculiar song, — 

" John Brown's gone to join the army of the Lord," 
with the gazing nuiltitudes joining the Avild chorus, — 

" Glory, glory, hallelujah ! " 
Nor am I now ready to approve of it ; nor will many. But 
it was then evident that there existed a latent admiration for 
the stern, persistent, self-sacrificing man, perilling and losing 
life for a cause he believed to be righteous. Nor is it pos- 
sible to ignore the fact that now his enemies have made 
themselves our enemies ; that the system whose outrages 
tasked, perhaps overpowered, the strength of his reason, has 
insanely raised its sacrilegious hand against our country ; and 
that if John Brown deserved death, infinitely more does every 
rebel now in arms. His crime — if crime it was — is insignifi- 
cant beside that of these perjured thieves and traitors. He was 



JOHN BROWN. 29 

a man ; Avhat I think of the people here, thus far, I will tell 
in some future letter. 

We entered Charlestown, Va. (I shall take the places as 
we came to them) , late in the evening, after a long and hard 
day's march. Our regiment had spent the preceding night 
in bivouac, where we had the pleasure of commencing an 
out-door experience of no tents, with the ground for bed, and, 
that night, a projecting root for pillow, — than which no 
night's need have been better, barring a shower toward 
morning. At four o'clock in the morning our regiment was 
in column ; and it had, during the day, an honorable position 
in the rear guard of. an army of twenty-two thousand. It 
was evening Avhen we approached Charlestown. The run- 
ning of cars from Winchester — the rebel camp — to Charles- 
town, heard q,ll the preceding night, had raised an expecta- 
tion of active duty ; but a few shell from a light battery had 
scattered the rebel cavalry, who left Charlestown as the head 
of our column entered. It was a beautiful evening. Light, 
fleecy clouds occasionally glided before the moon, only to 
bring out in silvery brilliancy the long column of dancing 
bayonets, visible in front or rear, as they rose and fell over 
the rolling ground. The tread of troops and the rumbling 
of wagons hardly broke the quiet. As we approached the 
town, the sentence was passed from one to another, " In this 
town John Brown was hung ; " and probably no thought was 
so predominant as that, when our tired men sank down upon 
the ground to sleep. 

Late as it was, I had occasion to walk a mile or more, 
with one or two others, to the village, where our assistant 
surgeon had to provide accommodations for a sick officer. 
It Avas past eleven when Ave entered the shabby town, and 
sought the hotel. On our road Ave met one of the guard, 

o. * 



30 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAX. 

who showed us our Avay, aud as we were crossing a stone 
bridge, he pointed to tlie right : '• In that field," said he, 
" John Bi'own was hung." 

At the hotel we found the landlord somewhat impractica- 
ble. Pie was secession in feeling, and vexed — as all the 
Charlestown people were — at the entirely unexpected arri- 
val of our army, and no better natured for the lateness of 
the hour. He was, in fact, somewhat sullen, until a thought 
entered my mind to try, at random, the effect of certain signs 
belonging to an institution which an absurdly humorous 
writer in the Congregationalist, a year or two ago, called 
"the worship of demons," — to whom I owe thanks for 
many a hearty laugh these weeks. The signs fortunately 
struck the right spot, aud were responded to. Our sick were 
attended to, and a hot supper provided for ourselves ; and 
we were speedily on terms of free chat Avith the landlord. 
Talking with him of the crowds then in toAvn, he replied, 
" We haven't had such a crowd since John Brown was hvmg." 
A little encouragement drew out his opinion, as well as a 
full account of the circumstances. The latter were in all the 
papers. The former showed the effect which John Brown's 
manliness had even on a Southern mind. He respected the 
old man. I particularly recollect the deep impression which 
John Brown's indignant refusal to avail himself of the plea of 
insanity, urged by his counsel, had made. The very words 
were quoted, and it was the evident opinion that but for that 
the life of the accused would have been saved. The quiet 
firmness of the death scene, and the apparent honesty through- 
out, were far from forgotten. The people evidently had felt 
that Brown was a hero, but in a bad cause. 

The next day I visited the jail and the room where he had 
been confined, aud so did many others. It is upon the main 



JOHN BROWN. 31 

street, aud by no means repulsive. The kindness of the jailer 
was still commented upon. I visited also the court-room 
where the famous trial took place. I saw the spot where he 
had reposed. I sat down in the chair of the judge. The 
places where the counsel stood Avere pointed out ; and I 
summoned up, as well as I could in fancy, the scenes which 
in that room had shaken half a continent. I saw also the 
field of execution, as did thousands upon thousands. The 
place of the gallows was ascertained, — the timbers of which 
were preserved in town, — and multitudes eagerly carried 
away memorials, even to the soil which pressed against the 
posts. 

Our regiment was in a few days sent forward to occupy 
Harper's Ferry alone. It Avas an honorable post, and we 
were Avelcomed with joy. To see tears rolling down many 
a cheek at the sight of the old flag, Avas a pleasant sight after 
the sullen hate of the other places where we had been. Here 
remaining for some weeks, Avith our OAvn colonel as com- 
mandant of the post, even after the bulk of the army had 
come, we had opportunities to visit every memorable spot. 
The famous JeiFerson Rock Avas there ; but fcAV visited it, 
while many curiously examined every place famous for John 
Brown's footsteps. The massive and beautiful bridge Avhich 
he had held, over the Potomac, Avas in ruins. Southern 
A'andals had destroyed it. But the place of his guard Avas 
remembered. The spot where he had stopped, and then, 
not Avisely, released, the raihvay train ; the arsenal held by 
him at first ; the ruins of the very muskets once at his dis- 
posal, noAV lying in heaps Avhere our own troops afterward 
fired the building to keep them from rebel hands ; the rock 
in the river Avhere one of his men was barbarously shot in 
crossing ; the mountain woods where another hid till driven 



32 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIUAN. 

oivt by himger, — all these plenty of citizens were ready lo 
show. But chief iu interest was the engine-house where his 
final and useless defence took place. I recognized it from 
the pictures then published. It has two double doors, each 
Avide enough for the entrance of a fire-engine, — thick, mas- 
sive doors. There still remain, unaltered, the several holes 
made through the brick walls, to enable the besieged to fire 
on their assailants. Former spectators showed where the 
few United States soldiers unhesitatingly advanced to batter 
in the doors, and where companies of Virginia soldiers had 
wisely hid out of danger of the rifles, contenting themselves 
with preventing escape till men of some courage should dare 
a capture. All the arsenal buildings were worthy of inspec- 
tion, but the long lines of noble shops were mainly in ghastly 
ruins ; the very trees of that once beautiful spot, scorched to 
death, cast the shadows of tlicir leafless limbs upon the 
blackened Avails. One of them, still retaining a roof, I shall 
always remember as the place where our Northern regiment 
met to worship, Avhile the roar of thunder and the flash of 
lightning Avere the accompaniments to the old psalms which 
rolled through the long structure. But, by some chance, the 
only building of that vast series Avhich still remains unin- 
jured, is the engine-house wdiich John BroAvn made his 
fortress ; and over it still Avave the green trees, unhurt. Is 
it a prophetic emblem ? 

Our regiment, by and by, crossed the Potomac. It Avas 
l)y the same ford, unused for many years, till noAV reopened, 
by Avhich the Virginia troops departed for Cambridge in 
1775. On the Maryland Heights opposite Ave bivouacked 
for Aveeks. Yet, by the providence AAdiich seemed to folloAv 
us, Ave Avere in the fields and snug by the house of the first 
man Avho met John BroAvn, Avhen, under an assumed name. 



JOHN BROWN. 33 

he was looking for a farm to occupy, preparatory to his pe- 
culiar purpose. From him, whose heart was unlocked by 
tlie same key as the Charlestown landlord's, I gathered full 
accounts of their conversation, and how a farm, mentioned 
by this man, as he and Brown stood at the gate before us, 
was taken. Brown had made a favorable impression, as Avell 
as his sons ; "he never saw anything out of the way in 
him," though Brown would never enter his house. The farm 
was two or three miles off, and there is nothing peculiar 
there. The people were mystified by Brown's movements, 
he said. Some peculiar articles which he had they thought 
were some kind of divining tools. Brown laughed >vhen he 
heard of it ; they were surveying implements. 

The last spot I saw in this connection was the school-house 
where the arms Avere hid. One night, going out with our 
adjutant, Avho was taking particular care on that occasion in 
stationing our picket guard, about three fourths of a mile 
from our guard we came to the building referred to. It is 
smaller than any of our country school-houses ; like even 
dwelling-houses here, it is of logs, with a layer of mud of 
equal thickness alternating with each log, save at the cor- 
ners. A respectable farmer in New England furnishes bet- 
ter accommodations for his pigs. The roof is now partly 
destroyed, it having been set on fire. The floor is nearly all 
gone. Under that floor the ai'ms had been concealed, and 
there also was hidden one of the men^ while his enemies were 
searching the Avoods, and even entering the house. It was 
from this building that Brown dismissed the school one day, 
to take possession. It is a quiet place, half a mile from the 
Potomac, with nothing habitable near save the huts of boughs 
which rebel soldiers had since occupied and abandoned. 

If I were asked the impression made upon my mind as to 



34 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

opinions in these localities, I should say that while John 
Brown was and is called a fanatic, lie was and is respected. 
He was made, by the trial and execution, a hero. The dar- 
ing exhibited in his attempt, the manliness he showed on his 
trial, the calmness with which he met death, made a lasting 
and deep impression. The local effect Avas powerful. On 
our march to Charlestown, stopping for a few moments at a 
house by the way, I pointed out the path to some soldiers 
crowding in for water, that I might appease the needlessly 
frightened family. "While waiting till all were satisfied, 
some conversation took place Avitli some of the inmates, who 
were secessionists, in the course of which the mistress of the 
house said frankly, " "We do not dare direct our servants as 
you spoke to those soldiers." I had merely and pleasantly 
pointed out a path away from the lawn, and I asked her, 
" Why?" " We are afraid of them. We have not dared 
order them since old John Brown's affair. The servants 
have always said since, ' Well, somebody's coming like old 
Brown, yet.' " Such is the general feeling in that vicinity. 
Nor did the slaves hesitate to express their delight at our 
presence. Shame on the miserable business our army had, 
to send back fugitives ! 

Nor did residents there attach only a local importance to 
the transactions of that time. They felt — and I feel with 
them — that thence dated this war. The South trembled on 
seeing that its pet system had no safe foundation. Its En- 
celadus was under the volcano, and the heavings were too 
perilous. From that date it began to arm. All over tlie 
slave country- military companies were formed. Its Wises 
began to plot. Its Floyds b«gan to steal. And therefore, 
when the war began, the South was ready, while the imcon- 
scious North, Avhieh had disapproved the raid, and supposed 



JOHN BROWN. 35 

it had thereby satisfied the slave power, was totally unpre- 
pared. Thank God, it is so no longer. The free North is 
pouring down its sons by hundreds of thousands — in no war 
to abolish slavery, it is true, but none the less to insure its 
doom. Had the South remained loyal, slavery would still 
have been protected. It is now too late. And if our gov- 
ernment be wise, besides its immense armies, in the fear of 
the Southern heart John Brown's ghost is worth a hundred 
thousand men. 



36 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER 11. 

TO Conrad's ferry and rettirn. 

Conrad's Ferry, Md., October 24, 1861. 

No longer at Darnestown, and no lo'nger writing of a fixed 
camp, and its routine of little details. 

It was on Monday evening last tliat orders came to the 
corps, suddenly, to cook two days' rations for haversacks, 
and three days' more for wagons ; it was intended, however, 
that we should not leave till morning. A few minutes more, 
and orders came to leave tents and wagons, and as speedily 
as possible be upon the road. It was then eight o'clock ; at 
half past eight our men were in column, with knapsacks 
packed and on their backs ; at half past three o'clock in the 
morning our regiment was at Conrad's Ferry, eighteen miles 
away ; and in a few minutes our pickets lined a mile of the 
Potomac, within musket shot, across the river, of the scene 
of the mournful, stupid Avaste of life, which has carried, on 
the wings of lightning, anguish to a multitude of Massachu- 
setts homes. 

Our orders were based upon the passage of the i-iver Avhich 
had that day taken place here. It was at first supposed that 
the movement had been successful at Conrad's Ferry, as well 
as at Edwards's Ferry, four mUes below ; and General Banks's 
division was sent on to support the movement into Virginia. 



BALL'S BLUFF. 37 

It was true that General Stone had succeeded in throwing 
over several thousand at the lower crossing. But how dis- 
astrous the result was at the upper, you too well know. It 
was this Avhich hastened our march to the then entirely de- 
fenceless spot commanded by an exultant enemy. Two or 
three regiments only went to Conrad'fe Ferry ; most of the 
corps was sent to Edwards's Ferry. 

Our men did not know whither they were bound, nor why 
— except that it was to the enemy's' country. Never were 
they more happy. They took the road with songs, no in- 
strumental music being now allowed on march. The weight 
of their heavy loads was unfelt. They needed but little 
pause for rest. The hope of meeting the foe was their life. 
Our drill, our equipments, our men and officers — too long 
had it been felt that these were idle, while raw militia had 
been sent to spots they could never hold against the keen 
enemy we were to deal with. But our men were doomed to 
disappointment. Worse — they went only to meet the shat- 
tered remnants of broken regiments. Before we had been 
ordered to start, the battle had ended in defeat. 

It was at Poolsville that tlie first news met us of the de- 
feat. There was the camp of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, 
and there some of its sentries informed us of the result. All 
along the road from that point we met fugitives straggling 
back to their camp. By the road were many men utterly 
worn down with fatigue, sleeping on the ground ; and now 
and then were groups around a fire hastily built on the road- 
side, dejected, but still burning with a desire for a new strug- 
gle. Many were but half clothed ; some mthout even 
trousers or shoes ; some wrapped only in blankets. We 
learned from them little more than that the river had been 
crossed, and that the gallant Fifteenth had been shattered 
4 



38 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

almost to atoms. They did not know the circumstances nor 
extent of the loss. 

The morning dawned, but the sun was invisible. "With 
the gray of the early hours came down a steady, drizzling 
shower, deepening into a pouring rain, which. hasted for most 
of the day. Our quartermaster had moved his train a\ ith 
wonderful ease and despatch, and at about six o'clock it ar- 
rived, enabling our men to secure a rude but substantial 
breakfast ; and in the course of the morning we Avent into 
camp. 

We found everything in mourning. There was no sun- 
shine. Nearly opposite was plainly visible the spot Avhere 
our gallant fellow-soldiers had been led to slaughter. The 
howitzers Avhich the enemy had captured were mounted in 
sight. Between us and the opposite shore was Harrison's 
Island, over which the advance had been made, and from it 
were coming the dead and woimded — the results of the bat- 
tle. In that island hospital strong and true men Avere dying, 
and many were suffering agonies. But the hardest feeling to 
bear AA^as, that these lives had been Avickedly throAvn aAvay 
on a useless, foolishly planned, foolishly executed expedition. 
In a house on the Maryland shore Avere others dying, — and 
the dead Avere buried near, — a house in AA^hich the holes still 
remained, Avhich, at a former day, the enemy's balls had cut, 
and where their shells had exploded. 

Of this affair a multitude of reporters haA-e already 
gathered probably every incident, and they are spread 
before you. Of its general character, perhaps I should 
give some account, as received from men Avho Avere in the 
action. 

The expedition toward Leesburg aa^is commanded by Col- 
onel Baker, a United States senator from Oregon, as acting 



BALL'S BLUFF. 39 

brigadier. He had at the Ferry his own regiment (the First 
California), the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Mas- 
sachusetts, and the Tammany (New York) regiments. A 
scouting party of the Fifteenth had been sent over the night 
before. Returning, it reported that there was a small camp 
of the enemy not far from Leesburg. Before daylight of 
Monday, Colonel Devens (in command) , with four companies 
of his regiment (the Fifteenth), and one hundred men of 
the Twentieth Massachusetts ( Colonel Lee accompanying) , 
had reached the Virginia shore, sent over by order of Gen- 
eral Stone to destroy the reported camp. He had commenced 
crossing about midnight. The crossing took place over the 
island, which had been occupied, and somewhat foi'tifled, a* 
an earlier day, and which is about one hundred and twenty- 
five yards from the Virginia shore, and four hundred and fifty 
from the Maryland. The only means of transportation to 
the hostile side of the river consisted of a small boat, which 
would carry about twenty, and a scow, on which perhaps 
seventy men could be crowded, but old and leaky, as the final 
catastrophe most sadly proved. At one time in the afternoon 
this boat was pulled across by a rope made up from pieces 
taken from canal boats ; but the service answei'ed only a very 
brief time. 

The Virginia shore is a bluff, said to be (and apparently 
correctly) about sixty feet high. Up this height our men 
climbed, and on the bluff" remained Colonel Lee, with his 
men, while Colonel Devens advanced towards Leesburg, 
which is some four miles distant. The reported camp proved 
to exist only in imagination ; openings in a row of trees had 
been mistaken in the night for tents. The force proceeded 
with care, reconnoitring the ground. At about eight A. M. 
the enemy were observed, and soon fighting commenced. 



40 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

After driving the enemy, it seemed best to fall back to the 
bluff, as the rebels were evidently increasing. 

Colonel De-veus afterward returned to his former advanced 
position. Here, about noon or a little later, the enemy at- 
tacked. After a short affair, it seemed prudent to return to 
the bluff, from fear of being cut off. 

At about twelve o'clock, Colonel Baker^ the acting briga- 
dier in command, had begun to send over reenforcements ; 
about half past one he crossed himself. The First California 
went over entire, as rapidly as the poor means of transporta- 
tion allowed. Three companies of the Tammany (New York) 
regiment, with Colonel Cogswell, and more of the Twentieth 
^Massachusetts, also crossed. 

As the reenforcements reached the gallant Fifteenth, they 
found them little beyond the river. I have said akeady that 
the bank was over sixty feet high. ClimbiQg to the summit, 
they found a track about seventy feet in width, exceedingly 
broken, and curved, Avith rocks, bushes, and logs — impassable, 
indeed, for a horse. Beyond this was an open place, almost 
a lawn, about three lumdred feet wide by four hundred and 
fifty yards long, — the length being towards Leesburg. Hei'e 
the battle was resumed with great energy. At three P. M. 
the firing was very brisk, and for the next hour it was ex- 
ceedingly furious on both sides. An order for artillery had 
been sent immediately after the first reenforcements arrived, 
— the enemy all the time rapidly increasing. Two howitzers 
(regulars) Avere sent over Avith great difficulty, and about a 
quarter past four, Lieutenant Bramhall, of a battery attached 
to the New York Ninth, Avith a rifled cannon, a six pounder. 
Those guns had to be carried to the soutliAvard of the high 
bluff and rugged track, to reach the open scene. As the 
forces were then placed, our troops Avere on that side of the 



BALL'S BLUFF. 41 

open field which was neurcst the river, the right and left wiug 
a little advanced, so as to form a concave front towards the 
enemy, but in a corner of the bushes ; a howitzer was at each 
extremity, and Lieutenant Bramhall's gun a little in advance 
of the centre, on slightly elevated ground. The enemy Avere 
also under cover of the Avoods, their sharpshooters in trees 
for more deadly aim, and rarely coming into sight for a large 
part of the fight. Our men had skirmishers on both flanks, 
in the woods, where much fighting took place. For several 
lioiu's it was severe. The enemy fired in heavy volleys, as if 
a regiment Avere shooting at once. " The bullets fell like 
hail," says an officer, Avho, though fighting Avith the greatest 
bravery, strangely escaped uninjured. The enemy had no 
cannon, but their force was not less, it now appears, than 
five or six thousand, to w'hicli our forces had but about six- 
teen hundred in opposition. 

Our men fought Avith the utmost braveiy, but they Averc 
gradually overpowered by numbers. About three o'clock 
Colonel Baker Avas killed. " Had I tAA^o more Massachusetts 
regiments," said he, a few minutes before he was shot, " I 
could beat them yet." Colonel CogSAvell, of the Tammany, 
took command. The fight still continued, but in A'ain. It 
AA^as at last determined to attempt a movement toAA^ards Ed- 
Avards's Ferry. The formation of the troops Avas commenced 
Avith that AdeAv, and partially executed, Avhen a dash of the 
Tammany companies (draAvn out by an ofiicer avIio suddenly 
appeared in front and called them on) into the open space 
Avas met by such a murderous fire as to throw everything into 
confusion. Our troops then descended the bluff, and formed 
on the plateau beloAv. Resistance was still made, but in vain. 
Our men took to the water. Many Avere droAvned. Many 
Avere shot in the water. The boats had both been sunk entire, 
4 * 



42 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

with their loads, and no transportation remained. Unfor- 
tunately, no olTicer had been left in charge of the boats. Half 
of our trooj^s were killed, wounded, or missing. 

The policy of the enemy w^as to w^orry our men for the 
day, and then to throw a heavy body of reserve upon our 
exhausted soldiers ; and it succeeded perfectly. The sadness 
of the results is equalled only by the stupidity of the plan. 
The ci-ossing at this bluff — w^hile half a mile distant was an 
open and level shore, — the criminal neglect to provide proper 
transportation over and to secure a possible retreat, and the 
uselessness of the enterprise, deserve rigid examination. 

The next day General McClellan came. The troops across 
at Edwards's Ferry were ordered back. What plans that 
general has, nobody knows. Whether he directed the recent 
movement, we have yet to learn. But he expresses his sur- 
prise at the method in which it was carried out. His pres- 
ence, of course, superseded General Banks, as that general 
superseded General Stone. 

Last evening we had an order to move to Edwards's Ferry. 
" The enemy threaten us in force," was the order ; " send two 
of your regiments, especially the Second Massachusetts." We 
marched six miles, and then were sent back, the emergency 
having passed. And we are still in camp. 



MiTDDT Branch Camp, Md., October 31, 1861. 
No more " near Darnestown." No more of that hard- 
trodden field where our camp lay ; nor that road by its side, 
with multitude of pedlers. We have been to Harrison 
Islaiid, and in sight of Ball's Bluff, which rested as quiet 
and silently as though blood had not dyed its soil. We have 



A QUIET CAMP. 43 

couutermarclied, aud our division is near the Potomac, below 
General Stone's command, and near Darnestown as a. fact, bvxt 
not as a date. "\Ve now are in a quiet, pleasant field, away 
from the road, which itself is away from the main road. The 
'•field and staff" have pitched their tents in the edge of a 
Avood, and as I sit at the '' door of my tent," the shade of oak 
and walnut is pleasant, this beautiful " fall " day. A little 
fire is burning a few feet before me, and the smoke curls 
up lazily in the sunshine. The air has the lovely, dreamy 
haze of autumn. The trees are gently shaking off the ripe 
leaves. The hum of insects is not yet ended. Near are the 
strokes of our woodcutters' axes. Farther off is the murmur 
of a rapid and a steep waterfall. The season is 

" Like an emperor triumphing 

With gorgeous robes of Tyrian dyes — 
Full flush of fragrant blossoming, 
And glowing purple canopies." 

Our men do duty where 

" The wide, clear waters sleeping lie 
Beneath the evening's wings of gold, 
And on their glassy Jreast of sky 
And banks their mingled hues unfold." 

It is a " muster day," and drill is omitted, and music silent. 
It is a day to dream of home ! Home ! Thanks for a home, 
Avhither the needle points steadily. And prayers for one sad 
man to whom yesterday's letter said his home was broken ; 
his wife had left this world, and so left her four now mother- 
less children, with no relative this side of the Atlantic save 
their father, and he bound by his oath to his country. 

But to another topic. 

I know that my handwriting is iTsually blind. Friends 
insist that it is undoubtedly an imitation of Greek. It was 



44 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

the fatliei' of Dr. Chalmers (was it uot?) who saved his son's 
letters for the doctor to read at his semi-annual visit, I have 
suffered maledictions from compositors, I know. Once I 
determined to prove that I could write legibly ; and I wrote 
an article in the old-fashioned, round BostonJiand, which Avas 
a marvel of clearness and beauty. Compositors were de- 
lighted. Alas ! it Avas like the century plant ; one bloom 
exhausted my powers, and I have never written a decent hand 
since. 

It is not strange, therefore, that I am quoted as saying, 
" Ave have been in no enemy's country," when I really said, 
" we have been in an enemy's country." Small errors I 
pass by ; this I correct because of its involving a mournful 
truth. 

We have been in an enemy's coimtry. Sent into Central 
Virginia, a continuation of the beautiful Cumberland valley, 
the central of the three parts into which mountain ranges 
divide Virginia, — a medium as to slaA^e population, betAveen 
the eastern and Avestern poi'tions, — midway betAA^een a loyal 
and a rebellious section, — Ave found it as alien from the 
government as any foreign p«Aver, and as hostile as the bit- 
terest war could render it. I see much in Noi'thern papers 
about freeing the Union sentiment, aAvaking loyalty, and the 
like. But I did not see such sentiment in Central Virginia, 
Avhere it ought, aboA^e all places on rebel soil, to have been 
exhibited. Nor do I see much of it in Maryland, Avhere it 
ought to be predominant. 

Confining myself to Central Virginia, I do not believe Ave 
met, outside of Harper's Ferry, half a dozen reliable Union 
men. The people Avere Avilling to buy and sell, and they could 
teach Yankees lessons in sharpness. But as to any open, 
ingenuous loyalty to the Constitution, it Avas almost unknoAvn. 



LOYALTY RARE. 45 

At best they were sullenly quiet, but by no means hearty. 
Sometimes they were outspoken. One good lady expressed 
to me the hope that every Northern soldier would be killed. 
At Middleway the stars and stripes were greeted with the 
ugliest of expressions, and " The Star-spangled Banner " and 
" Hail, Columbia," with which our band endeavored to edify 
them, met with disgust. At Charlestown every shop was 
closed as Ave entered, save one ; and the occupant of that, 
though displaying a Union flag, proved the meanest rebel of 
all. Nor has there been a single place where a little stay 
did not enable us to learn that the bulk of the inhabitants 
were in favor of the Southern Confederacy, except Harper's. 
Ferry, which, from its industrial pursuits, had a population 
entirely different from that of slaveholding places generally. 
There, was a large mechanical population once employed in 
government workshops. They had earned some money by 
hard labor and good wages. They had bought of government 
neat homes at a low price, paying by instalments for the last 
four years. They had helped build good churches, and had 
established public and Sabbath schools. In front of most 
houses is a little piece of ground, and formerly there were a 
few flowers — a rare sight in this part of the country. Such a 
population, though not particularly anti-slavery, was, and 
principally is, for the Union. Now the churches are mainly 
shut up. The schools are abandoned. The sidewalks and 
streets are rough and ragged. Many houses are deserted. 
Property, often their little all, is valueless. Their incomes 
are destroyed with the destruction of the government shops. 
Some of the workmen were persuaded to carry their knowl- 
edge and experience to Richmond or to North Carolina, and 
most of the true men are left totally destitute. Government 
will probably never restore the ruined buildings, and Harper's 



AG THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Ferry is ruined. Still, many men there are faithful to their 
country, in spite of all inducements to treason. 

There is no mistaking the general feelings of a people. 
This people regarded us as invaders. Most of them have no 
loyalty to be awakened. I write this with a little doubt as 
to the propriety of uprooting this convenient stepping-stone, 
on which I myself travelled into a clearer path. But that it 
is the fact, I am persuaded by an observation of nearly four 
months in localities which must be far in advance of Southern 
States in loyalty ; and I except only occasional places. 

That there will be apparent loyalty as our armies advance, 
is doubtless true ; but it will be based on self-interest, not 
love, nor to be trusted as anything else than a convenient 
instrument. This state of things arises fi'om two facts : — 

First, there is an " irrepressible conflict" between freedom 
and slavery. Free labor and slave cannot flourish together. 
Where industry is considered menial, it loses its vitality. 
Whites -despise it, and become, if poor, meaner than the 
meanest of negroes ; " poor white trash" is their legitimate 
title. BetAveen, therefore, the two kinds of labor, the sympa- 
thy of those who have the power is entirely with the South. 
Not because slave labor here is profitable ; it is not profita- 
ble ; there are not slaves enough, nor the kind of work, to 
make it pay, while there are just enough to make their mas- 
ters lazy. And from the latter fact is their liking for South- 
ern institutions. While, further, there is the deeper feeling 
that the North despises and dislikes slavery on conscientious 
principles, which principles the o^vner of one slave feels the 
burden of as well as the owner of a thousand — a small slave- 
holder in Virginia as well as the plantation owner in South 
Carolina. Out of such companionship as that of freedom- 
loving Northerners, these people ai'e anxious to get. 



SUBJUGATION. 47 

The second fact is, that the Southern feeling is, and always 
has been, that of scorn for " Yankees," as they call all North- 
erners. Most Southerners have carried with them the manners 
of the plantation, and have always looked down upon the indus- 
trious North. They are afraid of Northern thrift and enter- 
prise, while they assume to be a superior race. They dislike 
its democracy, and prefer the aristocracy of the South — to 
be tyrannical, if of the favored class ; to favni, if they are 
inferiors. All really slaveholdiug States must gravitate to- 
Avards the South. 

That the rebels must be " conquered," " subjugated," or 
whatever you please to call it, admits of no question. Our 
country's coasts, its rivers, its mines, its roads, its telegraphs, 
demand that it be one. The success of self-government re- 
quires it. But how to succeed is the question. That our 
armies will eventually triumph, is sure, in the fact that 
Southerners never dare meet an equal force of Northerners 
in the field. "When we have officers, we shall conquer. But 
what to do then? Is any compromise possible to satisfy 
them. None. To restore the South to its old status, would 
only restore the old conflicts, more embittered than ever, to 
our public halls, with the old braggarts, the old liars and 
thieves, for more haughty boasting, more impudent lies, 
more successful thefts. Nothing is settled till it is settled 
right. 

But when the South is conquered, it must be held. And 
that will require a social revolution at the South. Not a 
mere emancipation of slaves, but a change in the ownership 
of property. The property holders will always be the domi- 
nant class in reality. Introduce a loyal race of property 
holders, and loyal men of industry, and the problem is 
worked out. "Wliile you are discussing the Fremont pi-ocla- 



48 THE POTOMAC AND THE IIAPIDAN. 

mation, you forget that the simplest way of proceeding is for 
the Congress soon to assemble, to pass a confiscation act, by 
which every man committing a single overt act of rebellion 
shall forfeit his property. For this the army aches. They 
see rebels protected, their houses guarded, their property 
sentinelled. They see disloyal men " conciliated," even 
though soldiers should suffer. What think you of taking 
particular pains to restore slaves claimed specially on the 
ground that, as the whites of the family were all absent, the 
blacks were indispensable for gathering the crops, while those 
very whites were officers in the rebel army at Manassas ? 
That was what we did at Harper's Ferry. Or of restoring 
houses taken for public use, and receipted for, on the same 
plea of crops, while the proceeds of those crops were to help 
support Southern soldiers ? That we did in the Shenandoah. 
What think you of Union men being left without work, while 
notorious secessionists were hired in rebuilding bridges and 
the like ? Just that was done at the Potomac. Where the 
policy originated, I do not know ; but such things happened 
in the column of the famous general now returned to private 
life, until the spirit seemed to be that of the " reward and 
forgetfulness act" of Charles II., which he carried out by 
forgetting his friends and rewarding his enemies. 

Such a policy will never succeed. It conciliates no rebels ; 
it disgusts friends. Yet, if "general emancipation" were 
now made the object of this war, I fully believe that our 
armies would melt away. Our men are fighting for the flag, 
not for the abolition of slavery. So for as the army feels, 
.slavery is not a prominent theme or thought. The suprem- 
acy of law, and the honor of the stars and stripes — these are 
the soldiei''s principles. General emancipation Avould add 
untold horrors to what already has horrors enough — WAR ; 



confiscXtion. 49 

such horrors as the nobility of a true and gallant soldier has 
no desire to witness ; and would violate constitutional prin- 
ciples, beyond which our armies would be palsied. At the 
same time, if there is any work which our soldiers loathe, it 
is the returning of fugitive slaves. They despise it, and 
they are despised for it by the chuckling scoundrels who 
claim tine " guarantees" of the constitution which they have 
deliberately thrown off. But they are not fighting for " abo- 
lition." * 

But if you confiscate the property of rebels, you have the 
means to pour in a new population. At the end of this war 
there Avill be hundreds of thousands of young men ready to 
take and hold, with an arm used to the rifle, such pi'operties. 
There are plenty of stalwart mechanics who could and would 
redeem this Southern soil from the blight with which South- 
ern shiftlessness has cursed it. Of its Harper's Ferries, with 
magnificent Avater poAvers, Avith their vicinity to the land of 
cotton, Avith all needed avenues to the sea, Northei*n skill 
would make ncAv LoAvells and LaAvrences. These houses of 
half log, half mud, Avould give place to Ncav England vil- 
lages. The church and the school-house Avould renovate the 
character of the population, and the iron hand of Northern 
power Avould rule Avith a strength against which Southern 
impetuousness Avould struggle in vain, as Southerners have 
ahvays been poAverless, the Avorld over, against Northern 
steel. Slavery itself would vanish before such a resistless 
power as free labor, enlightened by a free conscience ; and 
the blacks, thus freed, Avould become supporters to a system 
of national industry. The noAV dominant class, once poor, 

* I was right then, but I should not be right to use the same language 
now. The feelings of the army have gradually and totally changed. Few 
soldiers of any rank now but detest slavery, and mean to fight it. 
.5 



50 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

would lose their pride with their power, and a new race of 
men would come into being. 

Strike, then, for a Confiscation Act ; and do not divide the 
North and weaken our armies by impracticable propositions 
of unconstitutional measures. 



Near Seneca, Md., November 15, 1861. 

The news which delights our minds is doubtless the same 
as with you — the successful attack at Port Royal. We are 
far more tranquil than you are in regard to news ; less ex- 
citable, less worried. We are away from the sensation de- 
spatches appearing hour after hour on the bulletin-boards, 
where one statement is contradicted by the next. A news- 
paper, with us, is a precious article. A Baltimore daily, 
which I succeeded in picking up yesterday, passed through a 
multitude of hands, until pretty thoroughly used up. It re- 
joiced our hearts with the official account of the success on 
South Carolina soil. 

By the way, what a ridiculous mass of blunders are heaped 
up in the columns of various dailies ! The errors which a 
mere lack of care allows are sometimes inexcusable. Thus 
Harper's Weekly points a moral from the defeat at " EdAA'ards's 
Ferry," whereas at that place there was no battle. " Right 
wing" and "left Aving " are huddled up in inextricable con- 
fusion. You .should note that Colonel Baker's force was the 
" right Aving " of the entire movement, covering the extremities 
of three miles ; Avhile Colonel Baker's force had itself a right 
and left, covering but a feAV hundred feet. One Boston daily 
rightly takes somebody to task for calling General McClel- 
lan " Commander-in-Chief," and then announces that his 



HEALTH. 51 

true title is " Lieutenant-General," — which is, really, a grade 
created by special act of Congress for General Scott, and, by 
that very act, will cease to exist when General Scott ceases 
to bear the title. But some of the pictorials are the richest 
in ability. The places they portray are frequently beyond 
recognition. A picture of the burning of the arsenals at 
Hai'per's Ferry, which I chanced to take up a few days 
ago, amused me somewhat, from the fact that the only two 
buildings which it represents as burning, are the only two 
there which bear no mark of fire ! 

There have been no marked changes in this vicinity since 
the Ball's Bluff affair, and the consequent immediate move- 
ment of troops. Between Washington and Muddy Branch, 
there are few troops this side of the river, but the Virginia 
side is occupied. General Banks's division lies at Muddy 
Branch and Seneca, on the Maryland side. General Stone 
is next above, covering the river nearly to a point opposite 
Leesburg ; and various parts of these divisions are stationed 
at the Point of Rocks, Sandy Hook, and Williamsjiort. 

Our own regiment has moved its camp a fourth of a mile, 
to secure a healthier location. The former site was a clayey 
soil, hard to dry after a rain. In fact, the ground Avas never 
really dry after the first day or two of our camping, and the 
residt has been seen in the poorer condition of a generally 
healthy regiment. The few days which have elapsed since 
our change show, ah-eady, a marked improvement. Our 
present camp is on high ground, and overlooks the Potomac, 
visible less than half a mile distant. The health of most of 
the regiments in this division is good, but reports of visitors 
to some regiments on the -Alexandria side of the Potomac 
represent an unfortunate state of things. It is impossible to 
keep health good on low gi-ound near this beautiful but 



52 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

deadly river. The miasma is terrible. Old resideuts shun 
it as much as possible, and those who cannot do so are a 
lank, sickly, cadaverous race ; and, so far as I can judge, 
the character of most of them answers to their looks. 

The matter of health has always been attended to in our 
regiment. In reading an article in the Atlantic for Novem- 
ber, I noticed that every valuable suggestion therein made, 
has always been observed in the Second Massachusetts. The 
"■ Sanitary Commission " was an organization of supereroga- 
tion for us — a proof of the value of having experienced 
army officers in charge of affairs. Nor can too much atten- 
tion be devoted to the health of soldiers. A sickly army 
cannot fight Avell ; nor is it fair to men who have left their 
homes for their country's Avelfare, that they should be need- 
lessly exposed to disease. 

The measures taken against disease are of tAvo kinds, 
namely, — the hygienic arrangements of camp, and the 
medical means of cure of sickness. The first are of the 
greatest importance. In selecting a site for a camp, one is 
sought for which is dry in its chai'acter, — elevated, but not 
■too bleak, — gently sloping, to prevent stagnant water from 
rains, — open to the sun, and airy, but shielded somewhat 
from winds and storms, if possible. The first Avork, after 
the places for our tents is selected is to sweep and otherwise 
clean the ground thoroughly. The whole camp ground is 
carefully swept every day by a force specially detailed, till 
not even a chip remains. No impurities are allowed near 
the camp. At the kitchen fires, in front of the company 
tents, deep holes are dug, in which the offal from cooking is 
thrown, and every day a layer o/ earth is thrown in. The 
tents themselves are struck not infrequently in warm, 
sunny days (if the camping remains long in one spot), and 



THE MEDICAL SYSTEM. 53 

the sites are dried. If there is straw in the tents, it is re- 
quired to be thoroughly dried at frequent intervals. The 
Sibley tents, Avhich our men use, are well ventilated at the 
top, by a liole coverable at pleasui'e. Regulations allow 
unwholesome food to be condemned, and new and good de- 
manded. To insure the care of the camp in regard to order 
and cleanliness, an " officer of police" is daily appointed. 

The arrangements for the sick are under the direction of 
the surgeon, who has also an assistant, both regularly'>edu- 
cated physicians. Every morning, any man taken sick re- 
ports to the first sergeant of his company, who enrolls his 
name in a company book kept for the purpose. Shortly after 
breakfast, tlie drum and fife give the " sick call," when those 
of the sick who are able, go to the surgeon, who prescribes 
as needed. If but little indisposed, the sick man returns to 
his tent, excused from duty, — the medicine allowed being 
furnished in the course of the morning by the " hospital 
steward," who attends to the preparation of prescriptions. 
If too ill to render it prudent for the patient to remain " in 
cpiarters," he is sent by the surgeon to the hospital of the 
regiment. If one newly reported sick is not able to attend 
the " sick call," the surgeon or assistant visits him at his 
tent, and directs his removal if necessary. Our hospital con- 
sists of two tents of thick canvas, each about twenty-five by 
fourteen feet in size. Each will accommodate easily ten 
patients, and is supplied with bedsteads, straw beds, &c. 
The " hospital steward" has general charge of the hospital, 
and specially attends to the preparations and administering of 
medicines, &c. A " ward master" has charge of beds, bed- 
ding, cleanliness, food, &c., and has several " nurses," — of 
which the allowance is one to ten patients. Two cooks pre- 
pare the necessary food. Other assistants attend to trauspor- 



54 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

tation and the like. If a man is likely to be long sick, as 
when a broken limb is to be healed, or he has some chronic 
disease, he is sent to a " general hospital," — ours being at 
Baltimore, in the old " National House ; " as the necessity of 
movements by a regiment render it undesii-ablc to have men 
in its local hospital, to whom a movement might be disastrous. 
When men shall be discharged from hospital is under the 
control of the surgeon, — as, indeed, are all matters relative 
to disease. There is but one head, — which makes the ex- 
cellence of army discipline. Medicines and instnunents are 
furnished by government, freely and according to the expe- 
rience of years. 

The above are the arrangements in camp. For the sad 
effects of battle-fields, ambulances and stretchers are ready, 
and attendants detailed, — that none of our brave men shall 
suffer more than is indispensable. 

I write of this topic because so many hearts at home are 
anxious, and such details may interest them ; and to assure 
them that, while nothing is a substitute for home^ with its 
warm hearts and gentle hands, yet everything is done which 
can be done to ligliten the burden of disease. Our surgeons 
spare no labor, night or day ; and our colonel is a frequent 
visitor among the sick ; our hospital steward is a most skil- 
ful worker in medicine ; our ward master is kind-hearted 
and unwearied ; our hospital cooks are experienced. Yet, in 
spite of all human skill and care, death cannot be excluded 
here, but will enter our canvas doors, as he glides into the 
houses of wood and stone at home, at will, or rather at our Fa- 
ther's will — before which who of us has notbeen made to weep ? 
Two of our number here have lately died, both stricken 
with disease in great severity, and both delirious from the 
hour of their entrance into the hospital — so delirious that 



MARRIAGE AND BAPTISM. 55 

neither coiiltl converse. What preparation they had made 
for the future must have been made before they lay on a sick 
bed. We committed them to God, who is rich in mercy, for 
the great love wherewith he loved us. 



Near Frederick, Md., December 19, 1861. 
I wnOTE you of our march from Seneca, or " near Darnes- 
town." But I cannot leave Darnestown without a parting 
salutation. There our regiment spent more than two months, 
varied only by a location in three ditfei'ent places, and by a 
hasty march to the mournful Conrad's Ferry. There we 
made acquaintances, and, what interested me more, I had 
some clerical duties to perform not usually falling to the lot 
of chaplains in marching regiments, viz. : I married one couple, 
and I baptized two children. The bridegroom was one of 
our own men. The children were in two families at Seneca. 
Both kinds of service were perfoi'med with great satisfaction 
— especially the latter ; the latter especially (call it not selfish) 
that it was a luxury to see a helpless little babe. To hear 
one cry, even, is a comfort to one deprived of the privilege he 
had at home. I wonder I was ever impatient at it. I mourn 
over former hard-heartedness. I warn every father against 
recklessness in this particular. I beg my ministerial brethren 
especially to guard against any possible fretfulness on this 
account, even though it be Saturday evening, and to-morrow's 
sermon yet remains a " skeleton." Do not say to faithful 
mother or careful nurse, " Why don't you hush that baby ? " 
Soberly now : thank God there is one to hush. Take it in 
your arms, and let its head rest trustingly on your shoulder, 
O strong man, and so learn yourself how to rest as confidingly 



5G THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

on God's strong arm and loving heart. " For as a father 
pitietli his children, so the Lord pitietli them that put their 
trust in him." If that little one leave you, you Avill be sad 
for many a year, believe me, over every impatient and stern 
word, though those words were only the rippfes on the surface 
of your tide of love. 

But about leaving Darnestown. 

First of all, spell it with an e. Mr. Darne, whose father's 
name and residence gave title to the place, spells it with an e. 
In ingenuity of nomenclature, they seldom rise, in these parts, 
above attaching some termination to the name of a prominent 
resident. Thus came Harper's Ferry, Clarks-burg, Hyatts- 
town, Pools-ville, Buckey-town. DarnestOAvn itself is a little 
village on the road from Washington to Poolsville, which 
runs almost as parallel with the Potomac as the crooked char- 
acter of that river allows, and about twenty-five miles from 
Washington. Most of its houses are of the log-and-mud style. 
It boasts no hotel, though some hospitable people would afford 
entertainment for man and beast. It had three " country " 
stores, where hardware, dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, 
quack medicines, and whiskey were sold in rather small 
quantities — barring the Avhiskey as to the small. There was 
a blacksmith's shop, but no shoemaker's. A post-office was 
in one of the stores, and before our advent a stage-coach 
passed up throvigh one day and down through the next. The 
few houses of more than usual pretension would hardly pass 
muster in a New England village, and the poorer ones were 
sadly dilapidated. " These buildings seem out of repair," it 
was said one day to a native. " Wal, yes," was the I'eply. 
".Why don't, the people repair them?" " Wal, we kinder 
take things easy, and when they tumble down we build up 
new ones " — a work which several save indications of soon 



DARNESTOWN AWAKE. 57 

needing. Two or three houses were enclosed with fences, 
and had a few flowers in front ; but as a whole, the village of 
one street was of the Rip Van Winkle order, where you would, 
and will, see black women cutting fire-wood before the door, 
while a Avhite man sits on the door-step smoking his pipe, and 
the pigs enjoying the free use of the road, too lazy to move 
out of the way of the infrequent traveller. 

But Darnestown woke up one day. A division of the 
army grouped itself on either side. The pigs and the wood- 
cutting went on the same, but sentries at the doors of the 
shops interfered sadly with the sale of whiskey. Along the 
street was run a telegraph wire, and up a rickety staircase 
was a telegraph office. Coaches ran every day. Soldiers 
lounged about. Regiments moved up and down. Orderlies 
cantered up and down at all hours. Trade inflated. The 
at first bewildered traders increased their stock of goods. 
Pedlers came. Daguerreotype artists extemporized small 
buildings. From a gimlet to a pair of boots (marked Claf- 
lin, Boston), whatever you wanted was of Yankee make, save 
the execrable pies which flooded the country — unmistakably 
Darnestown. Darnestown went to making money with 
more than Yankee shrewdness, and Darnestown was 
Union — when the army came. 

Of schools : there was one little building, but the fright- 
ened schoolma'am vanished, and the school-house became a 
pedler's shop. The principal school was at Rockville, ten 
miles off. I asked one man, a magistrate a mile away, 
Avhat a little building in his yard was erected for. " The 
front room for a store, the back for a school-room." Then 
he and a neighbor discussed the several teachers. One, in 
particular, they agreed upon as an excellent teacher, a thor- 
ough teacher. They paid him three dollars and a half 



58 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

per quarter for each scholar. " But Ave liad to give him 
up," said the owner : " he got tlic childrou along as far as he 
could go, but he had never learned the higher branches, such 
as grammar and geography, and we had to let him go." In 
one house of a family of pretension only "four books were 
discernible — a Bible, a Prayer-book, a catalogue of some 
school, and some work of fiction whose name I now forget. 

There are two churches at Darnestown, at opposite ex- 
tremities of the village ; or rather one is a little out 
of the village. One is Old School Presbyterian ; the other. 
Baptist. The meeting-house of the latter is log-and-mud, 
and open to the roof. It has, of course, a negro gallery, 
entirely separating the black from the white Christians, 
and reached by a staircase built outside. It is very 
comforting to know that, by this arrangement, there is no 
possible danger of contamination. The Presbyterian church 
is quite a handsome building, framed, boarded, and painted 
a neutral tint. Its gallery is reached by a staircase inside ; 
and the basement has, I think, been sometimes used as a 
school-room. Neither church had preaching every Sabbath. 
The Baptist was open about once a mouth ; the Presbyte- 
rian, once in tw^o weeks. Neither of the preachers was a 
resident, I believe, and they divided their time between this 
place and Rockville, which is a much larger town. The 
Baptist church became a station for pickets, and on Mon- 
days for a chaplains' meeting, and, subsequently, was 
turned into a hospital. When I saw it last, a battery was 
exercising by its side. The Presbyterians, with an attend- 
ance largely increased by soldiers, came to have public wor- 
ship every Sabbath. 

As our services were then in the afternoon, I have had 
occasional opportunity to worship mornings Avith other con- 



DARNESTOWN CHURCHES. 59 

gregations. I did so there, at a distance from camp of 
several miles each way. The first time I attended the Pres- 
byterian chm*ch, at the hour appointed for public worship, 
a prayer-meeting was in progress. Some resident brother 
conducted the services, and " deaconed off" the hymns, 
which, though an old New England custom, was new to 
me. The same brother led the singing, which I should 
have enjoyed, had he not invariably pronounced the first 
syllable of each line as " nah." Chaplains were the princi- 
pal supporters of the meeting. This meeting ended, the 
minister entered the pulpit, and, assisted by a Presbyterian 
chaplain, held divine service. The text of his sermon was, 
" Israel doth not know, my people do not consider," which 
he applied to the impenitent. Barring the misapplication of 
the text, Ixe made a forcible and truthful exhibition of a 
different topic. The sermon was well Avritten, and thor- 
oughly Calvinistic. His tone was severe, Presbyterianly 
severe, in which he evidently did injustice to his nature. 
From his general style, I judged him to be liberally edu- 
cated, but not remarkably patriotic. His Avhole sermon was 
directed by eye and gesture to a small boy in a far corner of 
the church. I pitied that boy. 

The soldiers listened with attention and respect. Here 
officers and men met on a level. Here all arms of the ser- 
vice Avere blended. The sober army blue of our Massachu- 
setts men contrasted with the gayer trappings of Ncav York. 
The light-blue stripe of infantry sat by the scarlet of artillery 
and the yelloAV stripe and spurs of cavalry. Here the plain 
dress of priA^ate mingled Avith the chcATons of the corporal 
and sergeant, nor Avas repelled by the epaulets or shoulder- 
straps of captains or colonels. And occasionally might be 
seen the buff sash, and the tA\"o stars glistening in silence on 



GO THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

the shoulder of the firmly-knit, keen-eyed, resolute major- 
general. Tlie rank was outside. Beneath were men, each 
under the same law, invited by the same gospel. Beneath, 
too, were Christians. In witnessing a division review, I have 
thought how infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, though 
distinct in dress, and arms, and drill, are yet animated by 
one principle : the infantry may have the Enfield rifle or the 
Springfield, the smooth bore or the altered lock, and yet do 
service in harmony ; even every regiment has its two flags, 
one its State banner, with its own name thereon, the other, 
loftier, the stars and stripes ; and yet all form one army, 
whose great centre of fealty is the flag. So all Clu-istians, 
though equipped differently, mayhap, and marching to a 
special flag of their oa\ti, yet bear above that the banner of 
the cross, and form a great unit, acknowledging allegiance to 
the one gi'eat Captain, Jesus Christ. How paltry are all 
quarrelings among Christians as to what arm of the service 
one belongs, or what dress he wears. The Banner, th6 
Great Banner ! The Captain, the Great Captain ! 

In the rear of this church is a burial-grovmd, the one most 
used. Not many graves were there till we came ; but there 
used to grow larger ever-y week a row of single graves placed 
side by side. They are the graves of soldiers. And here, 
on many a day, the village people used to stroll along as the 
muffled drum passed by, and curiously, yet sympathizingly. 
see the burial, and hear the three volleys over the open grave, 
and wonder where his home had been, and whether he had 
a mother. And they were often kind to our poor sick sol- 
diers, for which the blessing of our Lord be upon them ! 

There were good Christians there, too. I made some 
friendships, though they were not with any of the high in 
their own estimation, but with the more humble. Those of 



DARNESTOWN PEOPLE. 61 

self-importance were generally secessionists. In some fami- 
lies were many religious books ; and I respect one good man, 
Avho came to our regiment with tracts, only to find more tliere 
than he probably ever saw before. The family where I bap- 
tized the one child was Union. I hope to see yet, in future 
years, that little one, who knew, or seemed to know, when 
my hand held her, and always smiled when I took her. That 
family was sorry that we must leave. They said that with 
other regiments near them before, they had been in constant 
fear, and constantly suffering loss. But the Second Massa- 
chusetts had been oi'derly, courteous, and kind, and had been 
a protection. The reason Avas, we have Men, and we have 
Officers. Many other regiments have one, but not both. 

The other child I shall never see on earth. He has al- 
ready gone. 

" And we know — for God hath told us this — 
That he is now at rest, 
Where other blessed children are, 
On the Saviour's loving breast." 



62 THE POTOMAC AND THE EAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER III. 



LIFE NEAR FREDERICK TOWN. 



Camp Hicks, near Frederick, Md., December 13, 1861. 

The change in our situation since I wrote last is delight- 
ful. Moving hither frona " Seneca Creek," or " Muddy 
Branch," or " Near Darnestown," we came out of the ma- 
laria of the Potomac into pure country air ; out of a shelter- 
less, dismal field, into a pleasant grove, gently sloping to the 
south, where the warm sun lies beautifully down ; and out 
of barbarism into civilization. "We hear, by night, the hours 
struck. We hear the whistle of the locomotive near us, and 
think how, though five hundred miles from home, that power 
would take us there in twenty-foiu' hours. "We hear, on 
the Sabbath, the " church-going bell." How pleasantly its 
music rolls over the intervening three miles and a half, after 
our nearly six months' deprival of such a sound ! 

We had had rumors of removal for several weeks ; but 
nobody paid any regard to them, until orders came to send 
aAvay the sick men of the division by canal. This was as 
certain a precursor of marching as though the orders Avere 
published. 

It was on Saturday that the first departure of the sick took 
place, near two weeks ago. They were to go to hospital at 
Alexandria, some twenty-five miles off. So our own sick 



REMOVAL OF SICK MEN. 63 

men Avere sent down to the canal-lock, about a mile from us, 
there to join with tliose of other regiments. Special duty led 
me there, and we were at the lock about half an hour before 
noon. We had sent over twenty men, and from all the regi- 
ments there were between thirty and forty ambulance loads, 
carrying nearly two hundred. It was a bitterly cold day. 
The wind swept down the river valley bitingly. As the best 
to be done, we wheeled the ambulances round against the 
wind ; and waited — waited, till we were disgusted. It was 
shameless shiftlessness which forced these men to suffer. 

While awaiting the boat, we built a rousing good fire un- 
der the shelter of an abutment. When I was a boy I always 
was particular about the first use of a ncAv knife, and I had 
frequent occasions to try new ones, inasmuch as I lost so 
many that my indulgent father used to joke me with the 
statement, that if knives would sprout, our yard would be 
full of jack-knife trees. Well, I shall always entertain great 
regard for this knife (a capital one, just sent me by that same 
good father) from the fact that its christening took place in 
whittling. shavings to kindle that fire. For one side of that 
fire was a rock ; on the other we drove a crotched stick ; and 
across we put another stick, on which we hung a borrowed 
kettle, and in that kettle we boiled water, of which our hos- 
pital attendants made tea for the sick men, followed by good 
beef tea as food. Two things are to be noted about the fire, 
for the benefit of future laborers ; first, it takes one man ex- 
tra, with a dipper, to pvit out the fire on the cross stick, lest 
the kettle tumble into the fire ; and, secondly, it is not dis- 
creet to ask Avhere the Avood comes from ; the men's sickness 
must overrule — curiosity. But I confess that a rascally 
sutler objected to the sudden departure of pie-boxes, until I 
told the attendants to throw him into the canal if he did not 
hold his tongue. 



64 niE POTOMAC AND THE HAPIDAN. 

We tried to keep up the men's spirits, and they did act 
nobly. The boat came, but entirely insufficient. Its floor 
was still wet, for the water had but just been pumped out. 
There could be no fii'e, and. there was no shelter ; and these 
men were to go down the canal in that cold night. Straw 
had been promised, but no straw came. So we took the 
stacks of corn stalks from a neighboring field, until sentries 
drove the men off from this property of noted rebels. The 
boat was loaded at last, too full. I was the last out, and 
found the advantage of a pair of stout arms, with which to 
pull myself up six or seven feet. The boat started with- its 
precious freight, and many hand-pressures and " God bless 
yous." 

There Avas not room for all, and quite a number remained 
for another day or so. Of those left behind, several were 
placed in the two houses snug by. Our surgeon and assistant 
surgeon took care of our own men and of some others ; found 
beds for them ; appointed nui'ses ; secured sentries ; pro- 
vided food, and furnished necessaries. One .poor fellow of 
another regiment excited my pity. He was sitting alone on 
a bench in a kind of entry, and leaning in the corner of the 
room. I spoke with him. He told me his regiment. He 
had been brought down there, placed in the corner, and, by 
some accident, left. The boat had gone without him. His 
knapsack had gone aboard. The persons in charge of him 
had gone back to camp. He had no food. He was conva- 
lescent from typhoid fever, but was entirely helpless from 
disease in the hip. Our assistant surgeon needed only the 
sight of him to provide for him, and the warm-hearted men 
of the Second were ready to take care of him. So they did 
of others, one of whom was too sick — a cavahy man — to 
be moved farther. 



REMOVAL OF SICK MEN. 65 

On Monday the remainder were to go — by canal — np 
to the Point of Rocks on the Bahimore and Ohio Raih'oad, 
and thence to Frederick. So, Sunday evening I accom- 
panied the assistant sm-geon and ward master to the houses 
occupied by the sick. It Avas dark, and we picked our way 
by the light of a lantern, down through the ploughed fields, 
and over little brooks. At one house a sutler's establishment 
was open for trade ; but we were not in that line. Our sick 
men were doing Avell. In one room lay several of them, 
comfortably provided for — a low room, in a mean locality, 
and with beds upon the tloor, but still very comfortable, thanks 
to our medical and hospital men. And poor as was the place, 
and dim as its one candle left it, it was a spot where our 
Lord stood with us, and where, the hearts of the sick soldiers 
were refreshed. Even there were words of praise from 
spirits which had " peace and joy in believing " But the 
sick cavalry man had lost his senses. 

On Monday the second party from the division went. 
This time our assistant surgeon * had charge. The boat 
was ready at the time. The ambulance drivers reported to 
him, and he saw to the embarkation. He saw that nurses 
did their duty. It was by night they went ; but when morn- 
ing came, he roused up the attendants, and had Avarm relish- 
ing food provided. He drove away the Avhiskey-dealers at 
Point of Eocks, and though they had to wait there a Avhile, 
the train came at last, and carried them safely to a good hos- 
pital in Frederick. But one of our men (a mere boy rather) 
taken out of a hospital at DarnestOAvn, died the next day, and 
"Wisconsin men fired the volleys over his grave as they buried 
him. All the sick, save a fe^v to go Avith the regiments, were 

* It was Lincoln R. Stone, now surgeon of volunteers. 
6* 



66 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

thus carried away. Not all thus. When the last party 
started, the cavahy soldier was dead. 

On Tuesday our brigade started. The march was like 
all others, save that both days were very cold. The 
first day we went to Barnesville, a Maryland village of the 
genuine kind. Feeling Jlguralive, I counted the number of 
houses ; twenty-six, unless I mistook barns for houses, or 
houses for barns, in several intricate cases. We camped in a 
beautiful wood. It is strange how dreary a vpood or field 
looks in a cold day, as your regiment enters it, and how 
cheerful it becomes as tough arms raise the city of tents, and 
build huge roaring fires. So it was here. The next morn- 
ing reveille beat at a quarter past four. It was cold work to 
toss aside our blankets and leave our heaps of straw for the 
raw air. Great fires again thawed out the chill. Hunger 
vanished soon. You never appreciate coffee till you try it 
before daylight in camps of a cold morning, — after having 
attended to a moderate toilet by the light of a candle, for 
which a two-bladed knife furnishes a candlestick, one blade 
horizontal in a tree, and a smaller pointing up at right angles, 
with the candle stuck upon it. Probably you never yet have 
learned how good a dish is made of hard biscuit fried Avith 
salt pork ; though the flavor depends somewhat upon a hard 
march the day before, a raw morning, and before sunrise. 

Between six and seven we were moving again. Down 
came the tents as the final roll of the " general " beat ; into 
Avagons went tents and baggage. The line is formed 
among the trees. " Forward ! " And just as dawn was 
disclosing " Old Sugar Loaf," — the Kearsarge or Ascutney 
of this region, — the regiment plunged doAvn into the valley 
mists which wrapped its base. 

The road was beautiful ; only with cold fingers and feet it 



MARCHING INCIDENTS. 67 

is hard to appreciate scenery. In summer it must be deliglit- 
ful : winding around the base of Sugar Loaf, over a spur of 
it, along by tossing brooks, foi'ding shallow streams, — it re- 
minded one of New England mountain scenery. The re- 
minder Avas not in customs nor idioms. Calling at a small 
house whose joint proprietors were doing a brisk business in 
coffee and jaies, and where I made acquaintance with four or 
five broad-faced, good-natured children, I was amvised to 
hear the father tell one to "go himt the branch." I ventured 
to inquire the meaning, and learned that " the branch " was 
the hrook, and " hunting" it meant to wash his face in it. I 
was equally interested in learning that the title of " Koot," 
which oue little girl bore, was intended as " the short" for 
" Margaret Adelaide," as the mother informed me, after 
asking the father what the child's name was. But the poor 
family — none of whose children go to school — is the first 
family on any road in Maryland, rich or poor, which I 
have knoAvn to decline receiving pay for a cup of coffee or 
other little luxury. Of course I felt obliged to leave a little 
token with " Koot." 

That day brought us to "near Frederick." That day? 
Four hours and a quarter took our regiment fifteen miles, 
the field officers marching on foot with their men the whole 
distance. Then, in a bleak field, and in a cold wind, we 
stood three hours and a half Avaiting for orders where to 
camp. The responsible commander was then discovered in 
front of a coal fire at a hotel. We were finally sent to a 
spot near the Monocacy bridge, and pitched our tents, and 
spread our straAV, and built our fires. 

Next morning Ave were sent to this beautiful camp ground. 
Our camp is ahvays famous for its neatness. And here, 
underbrush has been cut up by the roots, e\'ery leaf swept 



68 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

oil", aud trees trimmed of low branches. We have the right 
of tlic line, the Sixteenth Indiana is next to us, the Thirtieth 
Pennsylvania a little in the rear, and the good Twelfth Massa- 
chusetts on tlie left. 

Our regiment acted admirably in this moving. They 
never marched better. They behaved well. There was 
little drinking, and no disorder. Nor can it be said of 
many regiments, anywhere, that one marched fifteen miles 
in four hours and a half, with forty pounds of load per man, 
and came in entire, and in marching order. It could not be 
said of us, as one officer said of another regiment (his own) 
on the road, " The had a gay old drunk last night, offi- 
cers and men." Our officers did not, as did multitudes, 
rush into Frederick for comfortable beds and coal fires at 
hotels ; for our commander is too old a soldier to leave his 
men vmder canvas in cold weather, and take to luxurious 
shelter himself; and he has too good officers to expect 
worse of them. In fact, if any of us had asked for leave to 
join a small swarm of officers (none Massachusetts) at hotels 
in Frederick, he would have found something else on his colo- 
nel's face than the kind look he is in the habit of seeing. 

Though I have, perhaps, taken too much room already, 
you must let me say a Avord on the recent orders as to chap- 
lains, concerning dress, &c. It is said, in some papers, that 
many chaplains are dissatisfied. This may be true at 
Washington, but it is not so in this division. It is, per- 
haps, pleasing to me that the simple dress now prescribed 
is the precise one stated as proper by our commander, when 
I was leaving home, and which, of course, I procured. The 
shoulder-straps, gilt buttons, and swords, on some chaplains, 
have always excited the ridicule of army officers. The less 
a chaplain assumes to be a military man, the better. His 



KO WINTER QUARTERS. 09 

influence is that of a Christian minister. Men expect that, 
but they do not expect a mere preaching officer. As to 
rank, due respect, &c., a chaplain needs no military rank, 
nor exacted salutations. As General Scott informed a com- 
mittee, a chaplain will secure that position his qualities enti- 
tle him to occupy ; that is, when officers are gentlemen. 
Some regiments — many — have officers not what they 
should be ; and there the best of chaplains find trouble. But 
the reverse is sometimes true. In this division, we are glad 
of the new regulation. We believe that a chaplain's position 
is too noble for him to need gilt and tinsel. General Jack- 
son once told a minister applying for office, " You have a 
higher office than is in my power to bestow," So has a 
chaplain ; but it is not a military office ; it is that of friend, 
adviser, and helper, to both officer and private alike. With 
such material as ours a chaplain feels no lack of rank or 
show. 



Camp Hicks, near Frederick, Md,, December 28, 1861. 
We have supposed that the division was to be put into 
winter quarters here ; but it seems not. The men have been 
allowed to make themselves comfortable in log huts, or by 
board floors ; but it is understood that the general-in-chief 
has decidedly informed the general of this division that win- 
ter quarters are not contemplated. The effect of this will 
not be great as to comfort, inasmuch as Yankee ingenuity 
can devise ways and means of keeping warm, unless too 
much care is taken to conciliate secession owners of wood 
lots. Did I write you, by the way, of a specimen of this 
regard for rebels — that certain straw stacks were held 
sacred at Darnestown, guarded by our soldiers, againt<t the 



70 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

directions of the medical director to procure straw therefrom, 
at goverumeut expense, for our sick soldiers on the canal 
boat? The question very naturally asked is. What man 
owned straw too sacred for government use for sick men ? 
A man in Fort Lafayette on charge of open treason ! 

But this statement as to winter quarters is somewhat sig- 
nificant in regard to the prosecution of the war. If it is any- 
thing more than a sagacious deference to congressional im- 
patience, it implies an active campaign, regardless of winter. 
This division is admirably located for quick service. Its 
supplies are easily furnished by rail. It is in a rich country. 
If wanted at Baltimore or Washington, a few hours. would 
carry it to either. If any regiments are wanted for South- 
ern service, Annapolis is direct by railroad. If the Upper 
Potomac is to be crossed, it is less than an hour's ride to the 
Point of Rocks, by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and 
hardly more than that to Harper's Ferry, where opens the 
valley of the Shenandoah, in which are Winchester, Charles- 
town, and Martinsburg, now being approached from West- 
ern Virginia — all of which must be cleared out. If com- 
munication is to be opened with the West by the same 
railroad, miles of which have been rendered useless by 
rebels, we are on the line. So that Frederick seems to have 
been chosen as a great point to start from. 

Frederick itself is a rather pretty town, squarely laid 
out, and Avith some fine churches and handsome private 
houses. The most of the Avealth (not all) is secesh. Many 
rebel sympathizers have long since left ; and even before we 
came, the Union sentiment was numerically strongly pre- 
dominant. People privately still drink the health of Jeffer- 
son Davis unmolested, and publicly look daggers at North- 
ern soldiers, though not very dangerous daggers. The 



FREDERICK. 71 

condition of society is sad, by reason of these troubles. 
Friends are alienated, relations separated, and even churches 
divided. To me it is of very little importance that Union men 
will not trade vv'ith secesh, and vice versa ; but it is a mournful 
spectacle to see divided churches and wasting Sabbath schools. 
The principal churches here are the Lutheran, German Re- 
foi-med, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Catholic. 
The status of each Protestant minister is well understood. So 
far as I can learn, the Lutheran minister* is decidedly and 
unconditionally a Union man, a Pennsylvanian by birth ; his 
large congregation is mostly Union, though there are quite 
a number of " peace" men ; the clergyman evidently pursues 
a judicious course, but he has lost several parishioners. 
The pastor of the German Reformed has an equally large 
society, and has been here a good many years. He, at one 
time, omitted the prayer (required in their liturgy) for the 
President of the United States, and, I have no doubt, did it 
with comfort ; but, being a " prudent" man, attended to the 
significant hints of several strong Union men of too much 
importance to be overlooked, and forthwith gave his valu- 
able prayer to our chief magistrate's welfare. Some few 
secessionists forthwith left, on the ground that, if the pastor 
was a Union man, they, of course, could not attend his 
church ; and if. Southern in sympathies, as they felt him to 
be, he yet prayed Northern, they certainly i^oulcl not. The 
Presbyterian minister, somehow Southern in his connections, 
is also, in sentiment, undisguisedly Southern. To a Pres- 
byterian chaplain, Avho called on him by way of courtesy, he 
said, " I should be glad to invite you to preach in my pulpit, 
but on the condition that no allusion shall be made to the 

* Rev. George Diehl, D. D. 



72 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAriDAN. 

course of the North." " I would not preach in your pulpit, 
sir," was the reply to the insult ; " if I did, it should be un- 
mistakably loyal. Good morning." The Union men in that 
congregation make no trouble, of course ; only rebels are 
turbulent. The Methodists are sadly weakened ; their min- 
ister is boldly loyal, and many Southern sympathizers have 
left. His Sunday school, even, these eminently Christian 
men have abandoned. The Episcopalian clergyman is nobly 
national. Of course he has not made his pulpit an arena of 
attack on others, but he is known to be plainly and uncom- 
promisingly loyal. Secessionists who leave other churches, 
find no comfort from him. Still, a large portion of his peo- 
ple dislike his Unionism, as well as his faithful, devoted 
attention to the sick soldiers in our general hospital. And I 
cannot help seeing that his position is not pleasant, either 
now or prospectively, and he ought, with his abilities, edu- 
cation, culture, and piety, to be called to some Northern 
church. This suggestion, if it meet the eye of any Episco- 
palian, I beg leave to say is without his knowledge, and I 
know not but he Avould dislike it.* 

I have had opportunity to be in Frederick two Sabbath 
afternoons. On the first, my intimate friend, the chaplain 
of the Twelfth Massachusetts, and myself, found ourselves 
in the Episcopal church. The pastor himself preached a 
very well digested and forcibly prepared sermon, on the " ne- 
cessity of a revelation," as to the being and nature of God. 
I was greatly interested in it, especially with its practical, 
sensible application. There were many shoulder-straps in 
the congregation, and a very sober and reverent attention. 
The church itself is a beautiful one, severely Gothic, built by 

* Rev. Charles Seymour, now of Massachusetts. 



FREDERICK CHURCHES, 73 

Upjohn, the special beauty of whose -work is, there is never 
any sham about it ; no mastic imitations of stone outside — 
that abominable humbug ; no blocked off plaster inside — that 
transparent lie. I confess I liked so much of the liturgy as 
enables the people to have some visible share in public wor- 
ship ; and the habit they had of actually kneeling in prayer, 
instead of the bolt-upright stubbornness which many of our 
New England congregations cling to so devoutly. Nor Avas 
I any the less pleased with hearing even the voices of chil- 
dren mingling with those of mature age in the Lord's 
Prayer. Nor was the congregation guilty of the gross irrev- 
erence of wheeling round, backs toward the pulpit, to stare 
at the choir. I do not think there is any heresy here ; if 
there is, have a brotherly regard to my reputation, and sup- 
press it. 

In the evening, we looked around for a prayer meeting. 
By chance, we got to the door of the Methodist church ; but 
learning that a certain tract agent was to hold forth, we got 
no farther. That particular agent I had heard once, and I 
knew his stripe on the great sins of the nation too well to 
want to hear him again. It is too late now to bolster up the 
" peculiar institution," and I am for the gospel, wherever it 
hits. A Christian literature which ignores slavery, while 
professing to teach sound morality, is poor stuff. At home, 
I attended to what my congregation needed — personal reli- 
gion. Here, I would do the same — urge personal religion ; 
but circumstances alter cases, and personal religion here 
meets the obstacle of the sin of slaveholding. 

So we went on, and came to the Lutheran church. There 

was no prayer meeting, however, the second service being 

held in the evening. The pastor preached in a devotional 

way. The singing, which was congregational, was most 

7 



74 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

hearty. They have here a very interesting habit of passing 
around the contribution box at every service. 

Last Sabbath afternoon I was again in Frederick, and 
went to the Lutheran Sabbath school. What a pleasure it 
was, after near six months' abstinence from such luxuries ! 
The school numbered four hundred, separated into two rooms. 
In one of them was the infant school, wliich had that day 
nearly a hundred and fifty little pupils, from scholars almost 
ready to pass into the next room down to timid little ones, 
majestically shielded under the arm of some patronizing 
brother or sister a year or two older. This department was 
admirably managed. The singing was delightful, and the 
very same hymns as are sung at home affected me very 
deeply. I count it a remarkable instance of self-denial that 
I declined talking to them. In addition to this large school, 
they have a mission school of about sixty pupils, a mile 
away. 

At the close of the school, I was a listener at a special 
service in the church, of, to me, a novel kind. There are two 
congregations in this chm'ch, English and German, and once 
in two weeks the pastor preaches to the latter. I heard him 
that day. That is to say, I heard his voice. As I sat there, 
never did I so realize the force of the Apostle's argument, 
when he says, " If I know not the meaning of the voice, I 
shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian ; and he that 
speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me." Here and there I 
recognized a word, but, as a Avhole, it was to me a mass of 
gutturals — saving the Lord's Prayer, which I was, of course, 
able to follow by the help of one King James. For further 
particulars, see 1st Corinthians, 14th chapter. 

In the evening, I fulfilled an engagement to be present. 
How strange it seemed to speak in a church ! The absence 



CHRISTMAS. 75 

of uniforms, the want of words of command, the lack of 
trees, seemed odd. Carpets, and pews, and pulpit, and organ, 
and walls, it reaUy took a Avliile to get used to them. I rather 
longed for open air again, and my own ten companies, though 
I began to feel before closing that I had once been civilized, 
and, possibly, in suitable circumstances, should be again. 
But I shall never again be reconciled to the board fence 
known as " pulpit." 

On Christmas, also, I attended the Lutheran church. It 
was a beautiful morning for the saddle. The ground had 
been covered by just snow enough to make it white, not 
enough to leave the least mud in melting — which is all the 
snow we have had yet. Not even had the slow Monocacy 
" skimmed over" with ice. The weather Avas delightful, as 
it is almost all the time. For the first fortnight of our stay 
here not an overcoat was needed. At the church. Rev. 
Mr. Phillips, chaplain of the New York Ninth, preached a 
very excellent and appropriate sermon. At the same hour, 
the pastor preached to the German audience in the lecture- 
room. I was not there to hear ; if I had been, I doubt the 
profit. But I could not help regarding it as rather enlivening, 
reverently feeling, nevertheless, that I was selected to help 
administer the sacrament, in a Lutheran form, to a body of 
German communicants, in the German language ! I con- 
cluded to decline. Nevertheless, feeling ashamed of my 
ignorance, consider me as learning German ! 



Cantonment Hicks, near Fkederick, Md., January 6, 1861. 
Cantonment, not camp, by order of brigadier-general. 
" Camp," say the Army Regulations, is the place where 



76 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

troops are established in tents, in huts, or in bivouac. Can- 
tonments arc the inhabited places Avhich troops occupy when 
not put in barracks. Then the brigade is in " inhabited 
places " ? Not at all ; but several regiments have built log- 
houses, and so wanted a better sounding name than " camp." 
As the brigade order says " cantonment," " cantonment" it 
is. It reminds one of the mince-pies a boy was calling for 
sale. " Hot mince-pies ! " " Hot mince-pies ! " shouted the 
boy. " But why do you call them hot f " said a disappointed 
purchaser ; " they are as cold as a stone ! " " O, that's the 
name of them," replied the boy. 

Several regiments have erected excellent log-houses. The 
Twelfth Massachusetts, in particular, has built a small city, in 
manner and quality very creditable. Our own regiment, 
having Sibley tents, with floors, and stoves, and straw beds, 
as yet find no difficulty in keeping comfortable. The general- 
in-chief at Washington says that Sibley tents are sufficient 
for this climate. Ergo^ this division is not in winter 
quarters. 

It is a little interesting that the very day when the order 
went into operation re-christening our temporary home, where- 
by some idea of permanence was intended, there came a 
sudden order to the whole division to cook two days' rations, 
and be ready to march at a moment's notice. That was 
yesterday. Rumor said that somebody had been attacked by 
some rebel somebody with a force of 17,000 men at Hancock, 
where is an advanced portion of the Western Virginia force, 
a place a little west of north from Martiusburg, and on the 
Potomac ; and that the whole division would go there. But 
we had received so many orders to cook two days' rations, 
&c., that we pretty generally believed it Avould result only in 
an accumiilation of cold victuals. And so it proves. But I 



PATIENCE. 77 

am satisfied that the chances are against our remaining here 
long. There is no great obstacle to winter campaigning in 
this section when the gi'ound is frozen as it now is. When 
the plan of the proper leader is developed in the several 
directions which look plausible, General Banks will not be 
condemned to inaction. Raw troops are sent off in the 
expeditions. "Why are the drilled and disciplined regiments 
left, except to see hard service? The men were delighted 
yesterday at the prospect of marching and fighting. They 
were merry as larks, and packed knapsacks with songs and 
jollity. But impatience is the great danger again at home. 
Do let the general's plans work. If anybody wants to urge 
an immediate advance on Manassas, let him expect, if he 
were gratified, such a mourning over the slaughtered as would 
fiU the North with dismay. Do people reflect what it is to 
make a direct attack on an able enemy, on his own ground, 
in a place admirably arranged by Nature to be defended — 
where months have been used to fortify every point — where 
engineers have selected sites for every battery — where a 
multitude of the heaviest guns command every avenue — 
where the range of every piece has been calculated — and 
where an immense and well-disciplined army covers the 
ground ? Ought not people to reflect that they cannot under- 
stand the art of war like generals who have made it the study 
of a lifetime ? They would not interfere with the blacksmith 
who shoes their horses ; shall they teach an experienced 
general how to fight ? 

It is curious to see the queer notions Avhich prevail in some 
minds. In the matter of promotions, for instance. I saw, a 
few days ago, the recommendation of a particular person for 
the rank of brigadier-general ; it had four points, and not 
one of them said " he has the requisite qualifications " ! A 
7* 



78 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN, 

member of Congress was urging the appointment of another 
person. " But he does not know hoAV to manage a brigade," it 
was said. " Well, he can learn, can't he ? " was the wise reply. 
If you were going to have your watch cleaned, would you take it 
to a man who " could learn " ? And you would commit the lives 
and honor of four thousand men to a man who " could learn," 
instead of appointing experienced soldiers ! 

The great want of our army still is officers. And the next 
is discipline. It is very pretty to tell what a patriotic mOitia 
can do ; but even the superficial reader of history knows 
better. In our revolutionary war — often alluded to — it is 
forgotten that the early troops had multitudes of " old French 
war " soldiers ; and that as the war progressed, the constant 
entreaties of Washington Avere for a regular army, and time 
for drill and discipline. It was not until such troops were 
made that our country became successful on a regular field of 
battle. Nor, from our peaceful habits, is there that previous 
experience which can extemporize an army. Our country 
will never attain its true power until it has an army — a large 
standing army ; and pei'haps not until every man is obliged, 
as in some European countries, to serve from one to three 
years ; nor until a great many more young men have a mili- 
tary education, which, from considerable observation, I am 
satisfied is, in many respects, the best that any young man 
can have, as preparatory to any profession. 

We are having, just now, a little touch of winter. The 
snow is two inches deep. The cold is by no means trouble- 
some, and our men are sweeping the camp-ground clean. It 
has a New England look, and makes soldiers from Massa- 
chusetts better contented. Woodcutters, too, resume their 
occupation, and there is a lively appearance in every direc- 
tion. In Frederick, the season might be called " gay." A 



KINDNESSES. 79 

quiet old place, rather Dutcliy from its origin, — the entrance 
of such a number of soldiers is a comfort to many. Epau- 
lets, sashes, and swords are as attractive to a certain class 
of a delicate and tender age as they always have been the 
world over. Visiting, driving, and party-iug, are rife. On 
New Year's, many families kept open house, and dispensed 
hospitalities. Mrs. Banks's reception was particularly 
thronged, of course, to a great extent by military, but with 
sprinklings of citizens of both sexes. It is not indelicate, I 
hope, to say that this lady is very popular, and deserves it. 
As an instance of kindness, — the mother of one of our 
sick soldiers was on her way from Massachusetts to her son's 
bedside. She chanced to be in the same car with the wife 
of the general, and in some manner Mrs. B. learned her 
story, and, on arriving at Frederick, at a late hour, she took 
the mother directly to her own home, at headquarters, where 
she was welcomed to the tea-table ; and, as the son was at 
some private house, she knew not where, the general imme- 
diately despatched a mounted orderly to learn, who returned 
with the requisite knowledge. The mother reached her son 
that night, some distance in the country ; and two or three 
days after, the thoughtful general and his wife appeared, to 
visit the sick, and sympathize with the mother. This con- 
federate kindness to a stranger, and regard to the sick (avIio 
was not an officer) , tempers the severities of such a wander- 
ing life. I have myself heard, at the gftieral hospital, the 
praises of this same lady's kindness. 

Nor ought I, whUe on this topic, to neglect to mention the 
Christian kindness of many women of Frederick to the sick. 
If I mistake not, there is the nucleus of an organization, 
which acts systematically. And in that, and in addition 
thereto, the women here are earnest and faithful in their 



80 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

kindness. Many a little comfort finds its way to the hos- 
pital ; many a delicate article of food is carried there. And 
the very presence of these ladies, as they daily pass through 
the Avards, with a kind smile and word, is often equal, at 
least, to all other means of recovery. It makes the heavy 
walls look homelike. And yet there are those here in Fred- 
erick who discourage such attentions to the sick. They are 
rebel sympathizers, of course ; and it illustrates what I have 
so often observed, that I beKeve it to be nearly universal, 
that the rebels have lost, in their act of rebellion, almost all 
Christian virtues, as well as the sense of honor. It is a 
strange phenomenon, but it is true, that from an active rebel 
you need not expect, in general, honor, ti'uth, or principle. 
The public stealings which characterized the Floyds, the 
Rhetts, and the Benjamins, were the indications of rebel 
character. Southern chivalry is a myth. Southern honoris 
a theory of the past. Throwing off their allegiance, for- 
swearing their oaths, plotting and conspiring, they are cor- 
rupted through and through. 

The Third Brigade, General Williams, has actually gone. 



Cantonment Hicks, near Frederick, Md., January 20, 1862. 

The brush at Hancock amounted to little. Of course the 
rebels destroyed, ^th impunity, a part of the line of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, as we had but a small foi'ce guarding 
it. A piece of road of this length it Avould take fifty thousand 
men to guard, as each part must be secure against any sudden 
and concentrated attack of the enemy, avIio occupy the coun- 
try on the other side of it. The faint attempt to guard such 
part of the road as is now in our possession, and the cntu-e 



EXPECTATION. 81 

neglect to open the whole, indicate that the general-in-chief 
regards the avenue as of slight consequence in his whole 
comprehensive plan. A general success would open the road 
of itself. With a broad scheme in mind, such incidental 
matters can well be postponed. 

Last night there came orders to the division to be ready to 
move " at a moment's notice." This old stereotyped phrase 
has rather lost its force ; but this time we think a little more 
of it, as it came from the general-in-chief. There were also 
sent orders to grant no leaves of absence, which looks as if 
something was meant. It somewhat disappoints the longing 
looks of some towards a day or two at home, but nobody 
Avould care to be absent if there is anything to be done beyond 
taking scrupulous care of the secessionist's wood-lot where 
we are in camp. And that matters are rapidly ripening to a 
crisis, nobody doubts. If Congress will provide " ways and 
means," and leave the conducting of armies to soldiers, suc- 
cess seems certain. Many persons seem forcibly to think 
that victory can be legislated, or that legislation or popular 
preference can make a general. It takes a year to make a 
good soldier ; how much more to understand, not only par- 
ticulars, but the art of war? 

The soldier's life here has been varied a little by vicinity 
to a city. Not that our officers have been on " sprees " in 
Frederick, or that discipline has been loose. But a certain 
number of men daily have been gi'anted permits to visit the 
city, and have seen the sights — one of the chief of which is 
a grog-shop every few doors on various streets, where sen- 
tries seem almost useless. Frederick is a great place for 
liquor. And some soldiers will drink to excess. The sum- 
mary method of dealing with these places would be best ; 
such as our commanding officer took, when, a few days ago, 



82 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

it was discovered that some loose literature had got into camp 
among a class that way affected ; — he instantly seized all to 
he found, and had it committed to the flames, Avhen it speedily 
hecame very "light" literature indeed. The evil Avas not 
general, as we have many sterling men in this regiment ; and 
it was summarily disposed of. The morals of cajnp will, I 
believe, compare favorably with communities at home. 

There have been various " parties," and the like, at Fred- 
erick. One musical entertainment has also been given — a 
military concert by our band. The house was crowded ; 
general, brigadiers, colonels, were there, with plenty of citi- 
zens. The music was superb, and received the warmest 
applause. 

My own work, the past week, has been in a different direc- 
tion — at the general hospital. It was found, some weeks 
since, that while regimental chaplains visited to some extent 
their own men there, yet there was no adequate religious 
care as a system. There is, as yet, no law authorizing the 
appointment of chaplains to hospitals, but, on representation 
to General Banks, he heartily approved a plan to have the 
chaplains of the regiments officiate there in turn, visit the 
sick, and bury the dead. The past week was my turn. 

The general hospital is one, established in some convenient 
place, to which the regimental surgeons send men likely to 
be sick for some length of time, or to have severe disease. 
It is established in buildings, and well systematized. The 
division hospital is in the "barracks," so called, two buildings 
of stone, erected in the time of Greneral Braddock, and in 
that war used for army quarters. You will remember that 
Braddock's army passed through Frederick, on its disastrous 
advance ; and, personally, I have felt an interest in the fact 
that my own great-grandfather Avas in that army, and once 



THE HOSPITAL. 83 

encamped by a spring near here ; and that no member of 
the family has been here since, until Providence attached me 
to this division in a holier war. There the buildings have 
stood for more than a hundred years, still strong and firm. 
The original plan was to build a quadrangle, but only one 
side, and a little turning of the two angles, wei*e ever erected. 
Nor is the one side continuous ; there is a break, and in that 
is now a low building used for kitchen and dining-room. On 
the inner side of the building, east of the two stories, is at- 
tached a covered walk, from which you gain entrance into 
the dozen rooms or "wards" into which each building is 
divided. Old-fashioned chimneys offer great hearths for 
roaring fires, cheerful, and capital for ventilation. Hideous, 
destructive stoves are unknown. One room is kept for office, 
one for surgery, and one for the soldiers' knapsacks. 

A " medical director " has the entire oversight. The pres- 
ent one is Dr. Stone, our o\vn excellent assistant surgeon, 
whose administration warrants the important confidence 
placed in him. He has three assistant surgeons, a general 
steward, and a nurse to each room, besides two female 
nurses, Avho exercise a general and beneficial care of the 
neatness and comforts of the wards, and whose kind hands 
often arrange the pillow, or smooth the hair of the poor fel- 
lows, with a humanizing touch of home. Of course there 
are clerks, cooks, &c., in plenty. And there are good beds 
and excellent bedding. 

Here there were, the day I went semi-officially (I knew 
the place before, for we had men there), one hundred and 
fifty-five patients. Most of them were able to sit up, but 
some were low. One was very sick, an Indiana man. I 
saAV him that day, but he was almost steathly delirious. He 
was thinking of other scenes; "mother," and "sister" — 



84 THE POTOMAC AND THE EAPIDAN. 

such were his often repeated calls. He seemed to think he 
saw them ; poor fellow ! never more in this world. They will 
wait in vain. A little change in the lines, — 

" For men must fight, though women may weep, 
And the sooner 'tis o'er, the sooner we sleep." 

He died that night. And next day we buried him, far from 
home, mother, sister, — with only six bearers, the eight mus- 
kets, and the three volleys at his grave, — but with Christian 
service and reverence. 

In one room, a small one, with four beds, I said to the 
nurse, " Wlien I was in this room last there were four very 
sick men from an Indiana regiment," " Yes," said he, " and 
they are all dead." They were all nearly hopeless cases 
when brought there. And I remembered that all four were 
delirious. Many, however, very severely sick, are recov- 
ered ; as many, perhaps, as at home in the same number. 
The care is good, the medical advice excellent. But it is a 
sad thought that almost every one I have visited, in a fatal 
sickness, has not had his senses in his last days. 

It Avas sad, too, to see a, few cases of consumption. It was 
easy to know that no skill could save them. And yet, every 
one " had only a cough," and perhaps " a pain in his side." 
That flattering disease had here its usual characteristics, 
" soon to be better." Army life had developed the seeds of 
the disease brought from home ; while, on the other hand, it 
is often the case that apparent tendency to lung disease has 
disappeared in this open way of living. Some, indeed, who 
were delicately sheltered, and who formerly sought a Avarm 
climate in winters, are now hardened into robust health by 
this exposure. 

But it was not all sad. I will forbear " anecdote." But 



THE HOSPITAL. 85 

never have I seen men more open to religions friendship. 
Many are Christians, and all seemed ready and eager to 
listen. They know the feeling of a warm hand-shake, and 
believe in any manly sympathy extended to them. They had 
some reading, religions and secular, left them by kind visitors, 
but there were few, very few Bibles, and such were weU worn. 
This latter want is ah'eady attended to, and speedily every 
room will be amply supplied. It would have done you good 
to see how happy some of our own men were when I took 
from my pockets their letters, which I had brought from 
camp. Be sick away from home, in a soldiers' hospital, and 
you would learn the comfort of Avords from home. And 
none the less would it have excited your Christian sympathy, 
to see how qniet the groups around the fires would become 
when the Bible was read, and how reverently they Avould 
listen ; and how many of them kneeled in prayer, and how 
hearty was their "Amen" at its close. In my ministry I 
have seen many sick. I have witnessed the supporting power 
of Christian faith, in its most favorable aspects, at home ; in 
fact, I can look back on no departed one of my congregation 
to whom our Lord had not given a firm hope in him. But 
the experience of a sick man among strangers, or at best, 
feUow-soldiers, is peculiar. And Christ is sufficient for them. 
These men, whether Christians or not, were not afraid to 
speak of religion — not merely very sick men, but those 
nearly restored to health. They " hunger and thirst ; " and 
the sooner Congress can find time to provide chaplains for 
hospitals, the sooner it will be doing some good. 



86 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Cantonment Hicks, NEAH Frederick, Md., February 10, 1862. 

My application for leave of absence, after passing through 
the hands of various military dignitaries for ten days, was 
granted, and so, receiving it in the evening, I was next morn- 
ing on the way home. Home, so remote, and yet so near ; 
nigh five hundred miles in distance, less than twenty-four 
hours in time. The sixth State off, territorially, but snug in 
the heart always. 

First, the camp disappeared. Then the soldier-lined streets 
of Frederick were left behind. And from Havre-de-Grace, 
picket and patrol were things of the past. The cars never, 
I thought, went so slowly before on civilized railroad ; but 
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, all came in 
season. It was Avith strange sensations I entered home, after 
five months of absence. To sleep in a real house ; to sit at 
one's family table ; to be partially choked every morning 
by the reveille of a three-year-old's chubby fingers ; to be 
slowly recognized in the street ; to shake hands Avith a whole 
congregation ; to preach in one's OAvn pulpit ; to feel refreshed 
now and then at seeing a blue imiform of some soldier on 
furlough ; to pass one night under the roof of father and 
mother, — altogether, it took several days to get over the 
"bewilderment." But when a "realizing sense" of the 
behavior needed in Massachusetts was obtained, the change 
was decidedly comfortable. I am free to confess that, not- 
withstanding the great advantages of tents as places of resi- 
dence, there is much to be said in support of the popular 
prejudice in favor of houses. I detest furnaces, however, 
and stoves as much as ever. 

If you think such a visit is rest, I wish you could try it. 
Such a quantity of errands to be fulfilled ; such numbers of 



HOME. 87 

mothers, sisters, wives, and sweethearts to be talked with 
about our soldiers ; such a multitude of inquiries to be 
answered ; such a variety of " letters, or very small parcels," 
which I innocently told the public I would take back, and 
for which I had to buy a trunk ! besides four sermons, all 
new ; but what are four, or forty sermons, when one has got 
something to say ? Indeed, I am satisfied that the principal 
difficulty in preaching (donH say "sermonizing" any more) 
is in having something to say ! When I had the honor of 
being a high officer in an " engine compafl^," we found no 
trouble in keeping up a steady stream, even Avith the " blun- 
derbuss " on the leading-hose, if there was water enough 
in the cistern; when she "drew mud" was the trouble, 
brother minister ! 

I am glad I Avent home, besides the reason that it Avas 
home. I did not know hoAV many friends I had, nor how 
glad they would be to see me. I did not know hoAv intense 
Avas the interest in our soldiery, both as to their bodily and 
spiritual welfare. I did not conceive of the generosity AA'hich 
said, so many times, " What can Ave do or give to help the 
men of the Second?" Thanks, friends. Our men shall 
know your warmth of love better, and their hearts Avill be 
stouter and happier, for your care. And Ave Avill never dis- 
honor your trust, nor the name of the good old State, Avhen 
the time shall come for fiery bullets and cold steel. " The 
soldiers are ahvays called ' boys,' are they not ? " I Avas asked. 
" Not in the Second," said I ; " our soldiers are men." 
They are, many of them, sturdy, noble men ; they knoAv 
they are on a mianly errand, and they mean to do it in a 
manly Avay. 

It seems dream-like noAV, that a^ isit. I kncAv I had to 
leave, being a man " under authority," literally. There 



88 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAX. 

was tlie new parting from the tender but brave heart, which 
bears hard separation and unusual responsibility, for her 
country's sake ; the unloosing of the little arms, Avhich plead 
so earnestly, "Please, papa, don't go to the Avar again;" 
from the church, Avhich waits so patiently and so generously 
for a pastor absent in their and his country's cause. When 
at the Boston station, I remember seeing a woman parting 
from a soldier, just leaving by the same train, and weeping 
so bitterly, — both were strangers to me, — while he was try- 
ing to comfort Jer, and her friends were saying, " Never 
mind, he will come back again." Will he ? 

Never did I so realize the sacrifices this war exacts. 
Truly, not the hardships of a soldier's life, nor even his 
peril, nor the taxes to be paid, are the cost of this contest. 
That is in the tears of many a AAafe and child, the anxieties 
of many a father and mother, told to God in the daily 
prayers of many a thousand households. Never did I so 
feel sympathy with our brave men, separated from their 
homes, perhaps forever. It Avill be over by and by. Many 
will retm-n. But many? But last evening, — it was the 
Sabbath, -:— as I was sitting in my tent, I heard from many 
lips, in a volume of sound which overpowered all hum of 

camp, — 

" O, that will be joyful, joyful, joyful ; 
O, that will be joyful. 

When we meet to part no more. 
'Tis there we meet at Jesus' feet, 

"When we meet to part no more." 

" Even so. Lord Jesus." And soon after I heard old 
" Coronation," its last two lines rolling upward, seemingly 
from a multitude of voices, - 

" Bring forth the roj-al diadem, 
And crown hira Lord of all ! " 



MUD. 89 

That sliall we do. " We give thee thanks, O Lord God 
Ahnighty, which art, and wast, and art to come ; because 
thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." 

A night and a day brought me back. Need I say I was 
somewhat restless to see our officers and men ? That I used 
to wonder how our sick men Avere ? The dead body of one 
of our faithful soldiers had gone home with me : would there 
be any dead in my absence ? Yes ; one had died. Deliri- 
ous, yet the day before I left, when I saw him in Frederick, 
he knew me readily ; and my good brother of the Wisconsin 
Third had promised to see him often. And two others 
were near death, and have since gone. Of the one who 
died in my absence, his comrades had, with soldierly gener- 
osity, sent home the body, and in addition thereto, had added 
a liberal, veiy liberal, sum from their hard earnings, to help 
his family. Oui' Lord will surely bless them. No others 
are dangerously, or even severely sick. And some had 
recovered, and have left the hospital. 

Are there any signs of movement? I can see none. One 
look at the inud would satisfy anybody. Everywhere is 
mud, mud, mud. It is not like New England mud. It is 
more like mortar, and deep beyond your imagination. Off 
from the turnpike roads, it is almost impassable for any 
respectable load. It rains often, and that deepens the mud. 
It snows an inch or two, and that becomes mud. The 
comic picture of a wagoner sitting on a fence, and gazing 
intently downwards, in search of his wagon and horses 
which have settled there, is rather an exaggeration, it is 
true ; but it suggests a solemn truth. In fact, the embargo 
on legislation in Congress is hardly more fixed than that 
on the army of the Potomac. In the mean time rejoice in 
the successes in Kentucky and Tennessee. Rejoice at the 



90 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

recent shelling of Harper's Ferry, whereby a lot of mean old 
buildings, Avhich we knew mainly as grog-shops, were burned, 
together with the hotel of as pestilent a secessionist as ever 
trod. I shall not shed tears if CharlestOAvn, in Vu-ginia, 
where they threw water on our soldiers, shares the same 
fate. In fact, many a Southern town would be improved by 
a share of the same course of discipline. The rascality of 
the rebel soldiers at Harper's Ferry, in concealing them- 
selves while a flag of truce was displayed, and firing on the 
flag coming in return, is Southern chivalry. The running of 
the gallant Mississippians, at Mill Spring, before a bayonet 
charge., is Southern valor. Two to one is their ratio of 
equal forces. 

But while I found, on returning, an embargo on move- 
ment, I found none on the liquor business. I wrote you 
before of the briskness of that trade in Frederick. On the 
day of my return I found the road spotted with drunken 
men. It seems as though liqvxor dealers held carnival. It 
is hard to believe that it could not be stopped. Some Mary- 
land law protects the dealers, I believe ; but the power 
which sends men to Fort Lafayette by mere executive Avar- 
rant, one would think need not hesitate to pour into the 
street the stock which, in defiance of orders, is sold to sol- 
diers, and to turn out of doors the fellows who are getting 
men intoxicated by hundreds. As it is, our own regiment is 
kept from it as much as possible. It is not good for a trader 
to be found near our lines in such an occupation. " Your 
officer," complained a liquor-selling Dutchman, " come to 
my house, and did speel all my leetel peer." " Sei'ved you 
right," Avas his comfort. It was fun to see him then 
dressed in a barrel overcoat, and marched round the camp 
to the tune of the " Rogue's March." Do you want to know 



GENERAL LANDER, 91 

how to make that kind of overcoat ? Take a barrel, leave 
one head in, cut in that head a hole just large enough to let 
the affair slip down over his head, and rest on his shoulders ; 
no sleeves are necessary. 



Cantonment Hicks, near Trederick, Md., February 21, 1862. 

" Why should I write? " I have asked myself. Who will 
want to hear from the army, whose share in the news column 
has, for so long a time, been " all quiet on the Potomac," 
while a series of splendid victories at Roanoke, in Tennes- 
see, in Missouri, have crowned their armies Avith glory ? But, 
I think to myself, our turn will come soon. Armies on 
either side, of live times the size of either Western force, 
will yet have something to do and to tell. And, in the mean 
time, multitudes of families are still as earnest as ever in 
love for their sons in this section of the broad field, by 
whom everything Avill yet be read. 

It is true Ave are still quiet. A skirmish aboA'e us, by 
General Lander's force, is the only noticeable incident. 
You saAV, of course, the order of thanks to that general, and 
he deserves it. But the implied comparisons in that order 
are strange. He is complimented for " showing how nmch 
may be done in the Avorst Aveather, and worst roads, by a 
spirited officer at the head of a small force of brave men, 
unAAalling to Avaste life in camp A\'hen the enemies of their 
country are in reach." Who Avould suppose from this that 
the other divisions, though chafing Avith impatience to meet 
the euemy, are kept in their present places by positive orders 
from the central authority? But such is the fact. And if 
anybody supposes that any general or division hereabouts is 



92 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

" willing to -waste life iu camp when the enemies of their coun- 
try are within reach," just let him get leave from proper 
authority to move, instead of keeping us tied to a telegraph 
Avire. 

We have been reading of the enthusiasm with which 
Boston was alive at the tidings of victory. There was no 
less joy here. When the information came from headquar- 
ters (reliable accounts are regularly telegraphed to the gen- 
eral, and thence commmuicated through the brigadiers to the 
colonels), our commander instantly informed the captains, 
and they their companies. Such an uproar of enthusiasm ! 
Out poured the men from their tents, and cheered by com- 
panies right lustily. Out came the band with Star-spangled 
Banner and Yankee Doodle, amidst the shouts of the whole 
regiment gathered round them. You would have thought 
the staid and sober Second had gone wild. Then the next 
regiment iu line liad caught the news, and their music joined 
in, almost drowned by the shouts of the stout Indianians ; 
and so the next, and the next, until the whole brigade seemed 
crazy. But who would not shout at such victories over the 
haughty, lying, thieving rebels ? Certainly they would who 
saw, as ours did, the wounded and dead at Ball's Bluff — for 
which our Massachusetts men owe yet, and mean to pay, 
a terrible retribution. 

A few days since a few of our men had opportunity for 
service offered. Orders came to select men from the New 
England regiments to go West immediately to man the gun- 
boats for the descent of the Mississippi. Only fifteen men 
were wanted, but scores and scores volunteered. Our fifteen, 
mainly old sailors, AA^ere joined to those from other regiments, 
and left, with a short and stirring address from ofti* colonel, 
who has the " art of putting things," and amidst the cheers of 



CAMP DUTIES. 93 

the men. The whole from this divisiou are now far on their 
way, under charge of Captain Gary, of our regiment. 

While thus waiting, and impatient at it, om^ men have 
gained much in bodily condition, and, so far, inaction is a 
benefi*»fc Few regiments did as nauch hard duty as ours on 
the Potomac, for weeks, without the use of their tents, and it 
told sadly in our general strength. The rest was needed. 
IMen cannot be transformed in a day into hardy soldiers, and 
the exposures and toil of a soldier's life are hard to bear at 
first. Of all our deaths, the propoi'tion was excessive in a 
body of recruits who came out in the autumn, and entered at 
once on a service to which the bulk of the regiment had got 
seasoned. "We had a large sickhst at Seneca ; but now, only 
one man of our whole number is sick enough to be in bed, 
and he not dangerously ill. A few days ago there was not 
one. There are a few, however, in the hospital, whom it is 
not thought best to hurry back to their quarters, but all ai'e 
out of doors at pleasure. It would be hard to find now a 
healthier regiment than ours. This will save many a man's 
life in the coming campaign. 

Nor do I find that this inaction demoralizes the regiment. 
I see that some New York paper, to sustain its unscrupidous 
dislike of General McClellan, speaks of the troops as in worse 
spirits than two months ago. It is not so here. Our men 
are in the finest spirits, and eager for work. Discipline was 
never better, nor more kindly submitted to. Arms and 
equipments are in the best order. The usual routine of camp 
duties is not at all relaxed. Comparative idleness, of course, 
has some evil results. There is, and always wiU be, more or 
less vice in a camp of a thousand men ; but there is no 
marked increase. Indeed, I am more and more impressed 
with the fact, that in addition to the excellence of our ofiicers, 



94 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

we have a great proportion of upright men, who came into 
the service from motives of the heartiest patriotism. 

Among other devices for this vacation period, we have a 
small regimental library. While at home, I found that such 
a help was easily procurable, and soon after my return a good 
heavy box of standard and readable books came on. I owe 
public thanks for this, especially to Mr. M. H. Sargent, who 
interested himself most generously and heartily in obtaining 
and forwarding the books — the nest-egg of which was a 
kind donation from Rev. Mr. Tolman's church, at Wilming- 
ton. (A few more donations in money would suit me ex- 
actly.) If the donors could see the eagerness with which the 
books are read, they would feel still happier in doing good. 
Although none bvit private notice was given to the men, the 
demand for good and profitable books was and is great. 
Among those most read (I take from the book Avhere I 
charge the volumes, to show the taste), are the charming 
life of Deacon Safford, Winthrop's John Brent, Dickens's 
Christmas Stories, Abbott's Practical Christianity, Dexter's 
Street Thoughts, the Lives of Washington, Jackson, Fremont, 
Franklin, and Boone, Palissy the Potter, Annals of the Poor. I 
wish I had a hundred more good books immediately. 

But I suppose before many weeks our library will be packed 
up and deposited in the govei'nment storehouse, to await a 
further quiet. That is, when we start for Virginia. People 
must not think, in their present enthusiasm, that the war is 
over. Great successes have been ours, but far greater toils 
await us. The rebels have formidable armies, able generals, 
large amounts of the munitions of war, an immense territory, 
and the desperation of leaders who fight in sight of the gallows. 
There is much fighting yet necessary ; much blood to be shed ; 
much suffering to be endured. There is no less need of 



FUTURE DIFFICULTIES^ 95 

patience, persistence, and energy. The spring campaign will 
be no holiday. Nor can we hope for uninterrupted successes 
everywhere. Do not call me a prophet of evil ; I am only 
warning against too great security, though without the slight- 
est doubt of the final result. I am cautioning against alterna- 
tions of exultation and depression. The Southern scoundrels, 
who deify stealing and lying, have too much at stake to submit, 
even though they ruin their whole territory. Moreover, 
slaveholding has trained them to be despots, and despots they 
will be to the end. It makes men thieves, and they will steal 
as long as they can. It makes them braggarts, and they 
will brag on the very brink of destruction. When the South 
is overwhelmed, there will be only an apparent peace ; for I 
have learned, even so far north as Virginia and Maryland, 
mingling Avith all classes, that as society is now constituted, 
we are two peoples. Men may cry " peace," but until the 
removal of slavery is plainly, quietly, constitutionally pro- 
vided for, whether instant or remote is a small question, there 
is no peace. Slavery is the root of our troubles, because 
slavery makes men tyrants, and tyrants thwarted are rebels. 
On such a question I have no ability to show the method. 
I only fear two things : one, that in the desire for peace, the 
government will let traitors go finally unhung, and the cause 
of their treason guaranteed a new life ; the other, lest in try- 
ing to remove the evil, we should, as in Hawthorne's exquis- 
ite story of the Birth-mark, destroy the life in rash reform. 
In our idleness we read the papers. Heaps of Baltimore 
and New Yoi-k dailies are sold in camp at the moderate profit 
of two hundred and fifty per cent. We read with great inter- 
est of the doings in Congress, for, though temporary absentees, 
we are still constituents, and will cast a heavy vote Avhen Ave 
get home again. If members of Congress could serve a mod- 



96 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

erate apprenticeship in the army, it might give them light on 
a few topics. One is, sutlerships. Senator "Wilson deserves 
credit for his attacks on this monstrous monopoly. A sutler 
has the exclusive right to sell in camp. A council of admin- 
istration may fix prices, but it is of little avail. Vast amounts 
of trash are disposed of at exorbitant rates. One gi*eat evil 
is, that many purchasing unhealthy eatables lose relish for 
the wholesome food which government provides. While we 
were at Seneca, and many men were sick -of dysenteries, and 
similar diseases, I knew of the sale, in one regiment, of six 
hundred and fifty full size, unhealthy. New York pies, in one 
forenoon. 

Another matter, where Congress would do well to pause, is 
the discharge of regimental bands. Those who advocate this 
cannot have an idea of their value among soldiers. I do not 
know anything particular of the science or practice of music 
(in fact, I leave that to an amply qualified partner at home, 
who attends admirably to that department, with the assistance 
of a small specimen, whom I found on a recent visit thoroughly 
communicative on the fact that " John Brown's body lies a- 
mouldering in the grave ") ; but I see the effects of a good 
band, like ours, continually. It scatters the dismal part of 
camp life ; gives new spii-it to men jaded by or on a march ; 
Avakes up theu* enthusiasm. Could you see our men, when, 
of an evening, our band comes out and plays its sweet stirring 
music, you would say, if retrenchment must come, let it be 
somewhere else. Let Congress lay an income tax of ten per 
cent., if it will, on officers, while men at home pay but three 
— as a reward for patriotic sacrifices ; but let the men have 
their music. 

Then you have read, with us, the account of a magnificent 
party, whose refreshments cost " many thousands." I can 



THE WIDOW'S CHARITY. 97 

tell you an expenditure far greater. There are many sick 
soldiers in hospitals. They are provided with none of the 
delicacies of home. In this town there is a poor woman 
who supports herself by hard labor ; very poor and very 
hard working ; so much so, that she has to weigh every cent 
carefully before spending it. But this poor woman deprives 
herself of comforts to buy milk and eggs, that she may make 
some delicacies for the stranger-soldiers in their iUness and 
their exile. That woman, carrying her few custards to the 
sick men, is, to me, a noble being. It recalls another 
scene, where " Jesus sat over against the treasury. . . . 
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in 
two mites." 

The public prints do not chronicle this poor woman's 
deed ; but there is One who says, " Inasmuch as ye did it 
unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto me." 
9 



98 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER IV. 



IN THE VALLEY. 



Charlestown, Va., March 3, 1862. 

I WILL never prophesy again. A little time since, I 
wrote that any movement was impossible ; while, suddenly, 
here we are, thirty odd miles off from my last place of date, 
in the midst of the enemy's country, and quartered, so far as 
our field and staff are concerned, in the hotel of a certain 
landlord, by an unlucky allusion to whom in one of my let- 
ters I came near being involved in a controversy as to the 
merits of an old and honored institution. The landlord's 
rooms are unfortunately bare of furniture, as he had sold 
off. 

How came we here ? Well, soon after celebrating Wash- 
ington's birthday we saw symptoms of movement. On that 
birthday, by the Avay, our whole brigade marched into Fred- 
erick, and there met the Michigan cavalry and the Maryland 
Second, and listened to the Farewell Address, read from a 
balcony. We also took off our caps, as a mark of respect 
to the Being invoked in prayer, but not with any respect 
for the sleek individual who read the prayer. That offici- 
ating clergyman was known early in these troubles as a 
sympathizer with the South. He it was whom I told you of 
as omitting prayer for the President from his liturgy, and 



LEAVING MARYLAND. 99 

restoring it, on a gentle hint that he had better do so. His 
prayer, so far as I could see, was a tame generalization, 
recognizing the existence of no treason, no war, no army ; 
an insult to his country, to "Washington, to the soldiers, and 
to God ; it excited the profoundest disgust. Why could not 
he have been a maw, and if he could not pray outright for 
his country, say so to those inviting him? Some other min- 
isters in Frederick are plainly Union ; the Reverend Doctor 
will be, Avhen the tide sets that way strong enough. 

A week ago yesterday we had hints to pack up. On 
Monday, orders to cook. Then we heard that General 
McClellan himself was at Harper's Ferry. Then we waited 
impatiently, until, on Thursday morning, reveille beat at 
four o'clock, and before daylight we began om* march in the 
mud and mist. At Frederick we took the cars ; at evening 
reached Sandy Hook ; crossed on the pontoon bridge, and 
occuj)ied the empty houses in that desolated place. We did 
not sleep on feather beds that night ; our wagons were in 
Maryland, and in our "mess" you would have laughed at 
the scanty supply of crockery, the unmatchable cups, the 
broken knives, and the solitary fork and single spoon, which 
we took turns in using. 

Early Friday morning, our Second, the Wisconsin Third, 
five squadrons of the Michigan cavalry, and two sections of 
artillery, were chosen to make a reconnoissance towards or 
to Charlestown, as might seem best, under command of our 
own Colonel Gordon. SpeedUy we were on the road, the 
skirmishers in advance, tlankers on either side, and pressed 
forward. The cavalry, with Colonel Gordon at the head, 
drove on the rebel cavalry pickets, and as the former 
dashed into and through Charlestown, at full speed, the rebels 
barely made their escape, leaving arms in their hurried 



100 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

flight. Artillery had been posted, and infantry stationed 

with the batteries just outside of Chai'lestown, when General 

McClellan himself came, and after hasty examination, turned 

our reconnoissance into occupation. It was the first time I 

had seen the general, and all I could notice in the brief 

moments was, that his pictures fail to show what he is, and 

that he has an eagle glance, sees everything at once, and has 

the air of one born to command, and able to do it. The 

next day on came other troops, of whose numbers I will tell 

you (privately) , that there are a good many infantry, quite a 

number of cavalry, and considerable artillery. 

So here we are in Charlestown again. Most of the men 

are away to the war, on the rebel side. What are left look 

as sour as they did last July. They were very anxious, as 

they had been told we were going to burn the toAvn. The 

negroes had been informed by the masters that we were 

going to sell them off to Cuba or elseAvhere. And leaders 

had urged the people to burn the houses and retire. But 

they were considerate. Like the discarded suitor, Avho did 

not throw himself out of a three-story window, because he 

reflected that 

" A lover forsaken, 

A new love may get ; 
But a neck that 's once broken, 
Can never be set," — 

so they thought that their property once burned up was gone. 
This twaddle about their burning their towns is supremely 
silly. Suppose they do ; ive don't want to live in their 
shabby villages. The few traders left have little stock, but 
that little they are perfectly ready to sell to us, as we give 
them what is a rare sight here, silver ! Their eyes glisten at 
it. Ridiculous shinplasters, of five cents, ten, twelve and a 



WORSHIP IN THE COURT-ROOM. 101 

half, twenty-five, and fifty, are their currency, and dirty stuff 
it is, too.* Salt is thirty dollars a sack ; shoes, ten to fifteen 
dollars a pair ; coffee, none ; and everything but wheat 
scarce and high. Supplies will now come in, and trade 
revive. Our soldiers had not been in Harper's Ferry twenty 
hours before new signs were out — " military equipments," 
" salt fish, groceries, rum, and whiskey." And in a few days 
the bogus currency here will not be worth two cents a peck. 

John Brown's memory is still the centre of attraction. 
Our men came in singing the " Glory, Hallelujah," and our 
soldiers sing it everywhere. Strange as that medley is, 
" his soul's marching on " does have a marvellous fascination 
to our army. The daring and manliness of that old man 
eclipses his fault, and he has become a hero. Again the 
soldiers visit the room in the jail where he was confined, the 
court-house, and the place of his execution. The room where 
Cook was imprisoned is now tenanted by secessionists, and 
the court-house by the Second Massachusetts. The papers 
relating to his trial are here, guarded with the other public 
records, and they excite great interest. Various handbills, 
ballots, and such like papers, are obtainable, and are treas- 
ured as mementoes. A few of them which citizens have, I 
shall send the Historical Society. 

Yesterday we had public service. It was a great comfort, 
after quite a long deprivation. The men were attentive and 
KEverent, and the singing capital. But the place made it 
memorable. "Where I officiated was the court-room, where 
John Brown was tried, convicted, and sentenced. There 
seven companies of Massachusetts soldiers filled the room. 
There was the spot where John Brown had lain upon his 

* Shinplasters are ridiculous. I cannot take it back. 
9 * 



102 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

litter. There, in front of the judge's platform, were the 
jurors' seats. The chair which the judge had occupied was 
tenanted by a Massachusetts chaplain, and Massachusetts 
sentinels were on guard at the door and gate. There, the 
first time for many a month in this town, did prayer go up 
for the President of the United States, the restoration of 
peace, the supremacy of law, and the freedom of our country 
from its sins. Such are Time's changes. Who could forget 
the events of that spot ? Let us hope that, as Massachusetts 
men occupied that place, so Massachusetts honor, freedom, 
and chivalry may yet imbue this whole section with prin- 
ciples which will recognize public morality. 

Whether we go immediately to Winchester, no man knows 
but one, who keeps his own secrets. I have perfect confi- 
dence that we shall, if it is for the best. Our present 
position opens that valuable artery, the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railway, our communications are easy, and we are in 
position to do service. The whole ai'my of the Potomac has, 
indeed, done its part. It has not fought, but military men 
say it has done as much. The line of our armies reaches 
from Fortress Monroe to Kansas. The army of the Potomac 
is the left wing. It having the most disciplined soldiers, has 
held, as "in a vice," the rebel army of the Potomac with 
their best soldiers, and thus enabled the right wing to win its 
victories in the West. Their line is now turned. And 
now their Virginia stronghold is isolated. The general plan 
of operations, as now carried out in the West, was made 
known to some entitled to receive it, as long ago as Novem- 
ber — the plan of the senior general. He will yet have the 
credit for plans which others, in tlieir proper place, have so 
brilliantly executed. 

Our troops have captvired large supplies of food. The 



AVINCHESTER. 103 

rebels have evidently kept this fertile section as a late resort, 
and have collected and stored large quantities of provis- 
ions, which are falling into our hands. But there is more 
yet to be done than this. It will be strange, I am satis- 
fied, it this section is not the base of most important opera- 
tions. 

March 8. — There are no changes since I wrote, at least of 
any consequence. The rebels are now cleaned out of the ter- 
ritory above Winchester ; but that town is strongly fortified, 
or rather the hills two miles south of the town, and a 
brisk fight is expected there. 

Workmen are as busy as bees on the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railway, which will soon be open. Large quantities of the 
iron rails stolen from that road are piled up on the Winches- 
ter road, and have fallen into our hands. 



Winchester, Va., March 13, 1862. 

Yes, Winchester at last. We started for this place on the 
8th day of July, 1861, from Boston, and have just arrived, 
contemporaneously with the occupation of Manassas by the 
centre of the army of the Potomac. 

Two weeks ago to-day we left Frederick. That evening 
we were in Harper's Ferry. The next morning Colonel 
Gordon led a reconnoissance to Charlestown, and Ave re- 
mained there, and General Banks, with most of the division, 
came on the next day, as I wrote before. On Saturday last 
General Sedgwick (successor to General Stone) brought up 
his several brigades. 

Little happened at Charlestown except Avhat I wrote — 
and one other expedition of our regiment. We had left our 



104 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

quiirters in the town, and gone into camp just outside, on 
Wednesday, March 5. Our camp was located in the ex- 
tensive grounds of somebody's residence — that is, a wooded 
field ; but the family, purporting to be Union, and not want- 
ing Union soldiers very near, our stay there Avas limited to 
one night, and we had to move in the morning to a new 
field. 

It was really novel to go into mere tents again. We had 
become attached to our board floors and few feet of side pro- 
tection, though I did not part with mine with such feelings 
as I left Seneca, for there I venerated my stone fireplace, as 
being built of the same material as the Smithsonian Institute. 
We questioned a little whether Ave should feel the cold ; but 
we find no trouble. Again we gather of an evening about 
the brilliant camp fires, and enjoy the simplicity of camp 
life. 

I mentioned the fact that we had one expedition. It Avas 
on Thursday night, a week ago. Ncavs came suddenly to 
General Banks that the enemy had attacked Colonel Mauls- 
by's Maryland regiment, in force, and that the said regiment 
Avas " cut to pieces." So the general ordered Colonel Gor- 
don to hasten Avith his regiment thitherAvard, adding to his 
command some other infantry and plenty of artillery. It 
Avas half past two o'clock, and in due time the force had 
traversed the six miles to KabletoAvn. Of course Colonel 
Maulsby's regiment Avas in safety ; the Avhole trouble had 
arisen from, the blunder of somebody, by which a cavalry 
patrol and Colonel Maulsby's pickets had fired into each 
other. Nothing Avas left but to kindle huge bivouac fires, 
and Avait till morn. 

Oiir forces threatened Winchester by four roads. The 
most eastern Avas by way of Berry ville, in which our regi- 



MOVEMENT ON WINCHESTER. 105 

ment was placed. Next, at Smithfield was a brigade. Next, 
from Bunker Hill ; and still farther west, General Shields's 
division (late under tlie lamented Lander) . And still nearer 
to Washington Avas Colonel Geary, who had occupied Lees- 
burg, and could easily advance through gaps in the Blue 
Ridge towards Winchester. Towards and into Berryville 
General Gorman moved, last Monday, with one brigade ; but 
before reaching that place sent back for additional forces. 
Our own brigade, General Abercrombie's, hastened onward, 
and reached Berryville towards sundown. I have heard of 
but one exploit of the brigade first moving. Seeing a body 
of rebels on a hill, a couple of shell dispersed them with ease. 
Possibly the apparent danger of the enterprise may be modi- 
fied by the f&ct that the rebel force subsequently appeared to 
have been a farmer on l)orseback superintending a few labox-- 
ers at work with a threshing machine. 

Moving in haste, Ave left tents standing ; nor did our 
wagons reach us until the next day. So Ave tried our old 
habit of biA^ouac. For the definition of that Avord, look in 
the Dictionary, being sure to " Get the Best ! " Then 
imagine the place of bivouac a rough piece of land, sparsely 
wooded ; huge piles of straw soon accumulated ; great fires 
along company and officers' lines ; here and there a half- 
shelter, hastily planned, and built of the rails no longer in 
fences ; groups eating the rations from their haversacks, and 
merrily drinking coffee made in the kettles brought each by 
two men ; and then smoking their pipes, humble clay, and 
more elegant brier- AA^ood, or pretentious meerschaum ; and 
by and by, as the tattoo was about to beat, I saw here and 
there some kneeling, reverently, undisturbed, both Protestant 
and Catholic, and I kncAV why. And then the deepening 
clouds greAv blacker. Then the wet drops pattered on the 



lOG THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIUAN. 

grouud. Then the rain poured down, and the wind whirled 
the dead leaves about, and the men lay stretched on the 
straw piles, buried under blanket and rubber blanket. Then, 
after a few hours, the clouds cleared away, but a cold, 
hard wind blew until many roused themselves and built 
up the decaying fires, and sat in their warm circle till day- 
light. The sun rose warm, and the birds went to sing- 
ing, and the trouble of the wet and cold bivouac night was 
forgotten. 

Our wagons came on. But after one night in tents we 
moved again. Tidings came that Winchester was occupied. 
Then, at " retreat," came hasty orders to move immediately, 
the messenger saying that the rebel General Jackson had 
skilfully marched to the rear of our force at Winchester, 
captured General Shields and seven thousand men, and that 
General Hamilton was still engaged. It was a ridiculous false- 
hood, for which no explanation is yet made, but it Avas believed. 
The messenger afterwards said it was a joTie. Our men re- 
ceived orders Avith a universal cheer. In twenty-five min- 
utes our regiment, with packed knapsacks and partly-filled 
haversacks, were in column on the road. As regiment after 
regiment received orders, and with shouts joined the line, the 
scene was intensely interesting. You would have thought it 
was a gigantic pleasure party. Day was shading into night 
as Ave moA'ed on. We passed regiments and Avhole brigades, 
ready formed, and Avaiting the Avord " forAvard." " What 
regiment is that ?" Avas the regular salutation. Cheers fol- 
lowed, and Avhen Massachusetts troops thus met, the shouts 
were tremendous. Mile after mile Avas passed over. " I 
wish I Avas in Dixie," or " I'm bound for the land of Ca- 
naan," or " John BroAATi's body," enliA'ened the march. But 
as hours wore aAvay, all sank into comparative silence. The 



WINCHESTER OURS. 107 

foolish tale which called us on being contradicted, at midnight 
the brigadier ordered a halt, a few miles from "Winchester. 
We turned into a grove, tangled and rough. Again in every 
direction were roaring fires. Pine branches made beautiful 
beds, and the regiments went to sleep in the still and calm 
moonlight. 

TVHien morning came we Avaited impatiently for orders. It 
was noon before they came — a tantalizing delay. It began 
to rain before we were bid to camp, only a few rods off. 
Our Avagons AA^ere on hand, and we AA'ere a city again. 

Jackson had cA^acuated Winchester. He had done it Avith 
as great deliberation as he pleased ; removed all his stores, 
guns, and munitions of war ; carried off such private prop- 
erty as he fancied ; and left naked the small defences, in 
AA^hich, Avith five thousand men, he had deluded a whole 
division. "Strategy" is a great thing; but driving rebels 
at the point of the bayonet is the only lesson the South AAdll 
eA'er appreciate. 

It is a cvii'ious truth that, AAdiile our papers could not 
publish the moAxment of General Banks, it had been 
knoA\Ti at Richmond on the first of the three days occupied 
in crossing. Our adA^ance seemed sudden by the Boston 
papers, but only because they were allowed no intelli- 
gence. Really, it has taken a fortnight to get here from 
Frederick, while no enemy has been met except their retreat- 
ing pickets. 



WiNCHESTEK, Va., March 22, 1862. 

Our regiment remains located as AAdien I last wrote, 
though transferred to another brigade. In the neAv arrange- 
ments of corps, Brigadier-General Hamilton is transferred to 



108 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN/ 

the late command of General Heintzelman. Our regiment 
has been removed to General Hamilton's late brigade (two 
others being taken out of that), and Colonel Gordon com- 
mands the brigade. So admirably fitted as he is for the per- 
manent position of brigadier, it is the country's loss that in- 
competent men have been bolstered into such places by 
political manoeuvres, while local spite has operated against 
a man who has been repeatedly the resource of our major- 
general in dangerous and delicate operations. 

Winchester is in " the Valley." Everywhere you see the 
cognomen. There is the " Bank of the Valley " — just now 
removed; the " Valley Agricultural Society" — office closed 
at present; "Valley" this, and "Valley" that. Adver- 
tisers have the most complete assortment, of whatever goods 
they deal in, " to be found in the Valley." The Valley is 
rich, agriculturally. The scenery of the Valley is beautiful. 
But the town of the Valley, Winchester, is dirty and shiftless. 
Laid out, they tell me, by Lord Fairfax, its streets are 
straight, and paved with rough rocks. There are excep- 
tional houses of good appearance, but the bulk of the town 
is mean. It has a medical school, or had ; a young ladies' 
institute, price $200 a year ; several hotels, at the principal 
one of which, Taylor's, a dark and gloomy affivir, you can 
get as mean board as you Avish at $2.50 per day ; five or six 
churches, — Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, 
&c. Winchester's population is mixed. It has much of 
what I have seen so often that I think it must be genuine 
" Valley Virginian," — rather under-sized, slight built, thin 
face, black hair, dark eyes, quick-motioced, regular features, 
rather sullen in look, passionate, easily prejudiced, without 
marks of mental vigor, and sharp in trade as Yankees are 
reputed to be. 



WINCHESTER. 109 

Then thei'e is the " colored" population in great numbers, 
— thick as grasshoppers in hay time. And it is Avonderful to 
see the effect of climate on complexion. There are very few 
blacks here. But froua mulatto to Virginia white, there is 
abundance. A very large number of these unfortunates 
Avould pass, but for certain traces of African features, for 
white persons ; shoAving that, in the course of several genera- 
tions, the climate of Virginia has nearly bleached the African 
race. Indeed, among hundreds of this people, I have seen 
but one negro of the genuine color. 

Winchester is further remarkable as the residence — when 
the individual is at home — of ex-Senator Mason. His house 
stands a little out of town, westerly, — a large, square, old- 
fashioned, white house, on a sharp knoll, with moderate 
grounds in front, a sharp flight of steps ascending to the 
door, over Avhich door is a portico, and over which portico 
now floats the American flag. The family, library, &c., left 
town about ten days ago ; the contents of his law office de- 
parted also. Our friend is not popular in his own town. I 
was told by an old and trustworthy citizen, that Mason could 
not secure an election as delegate from Winchester, and that 
he was considered as not more than a second or third-rate 
lawyer. " Beef and liquor is all he is fit for," said the citi- 
zen. Doubtless his slave-driving manners, intensified in 
Congress, have some effect on his popularity. 

Quite a number of Noi'thern persons are also living in 
Winchester. Some years ago a joint-stock boot and shoe 
manufactory was established here, and workmen were im- 
ported from New England. Some came from Milford, Mass. 
Quite a number of Northern-born people also reside in Berry- 
ville, about ten miles easterly, where they have been these 
twenty years. These latter are bitter secessionists, and the 
10 



110 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

former consider it prudent, even the best of them, to be, at 
least, very quiet. When the outrageous oppression exercised 
towards Union men is considered, I do not wonder that real 
Union men keep still. Of course it is a mean loyalty which 
succumbs to threats ; but few persons have the manliness to 
do riglit against public sentiment, or when it requires real 
sacrifices. The " conciliating " policy also has its effect. 
" If you don't take the Southern side," says the rebel govern- 
ment to a man, " we'll confiscate your property and imprison 
you." " If you do take the Southern side," our government 
practically says, " we will not harm you." 

Yet, no doubt, as soon as our govei'nment shows that it 
can and will hold the coimtry, the majority mil swing around. 
Virginia is a mean State at the best. You remember its 
double-dealing last year, when it pretended to be neutral, only 
to gain time to plunder fortresses and arsenals ; and how, 
after it had passed the ordinance of secession, it kept the fact 
secret, and continued to delude our government. Captain 
Baylor is a fair specimen of Virginia chivalry. At Harper's 
Ferry a few weeks ago, to get into his reach a Mr. Rohr, 
a loyal Virginian ferryman, he made his servant hoist a white 
flag. Rohr started to come on, as before, with another flag. 
As he approached the shore, Baylor, Avith some of his men, 
hidden in an archway, deliberately shot Rohr dead. When 
at the ferry, I inquired into the facts, and learned that Bay- 
lor had pviblicly declared his intention of killing Rohr in this 
way, and that the black who raised the flag was forced to it 
by threats. And yet this scoundrel was a Union man up to 
the latest moment ! If this villain should be caught, would 
he be hung? No. "Conciliate." "Conciliate." And this 
Baylor is a fair specimen of Virginians. South Carolina was 
bold and open ; Virginia, mean and sneaking. I respect the 
former ; I despise the latter. 



SOUTHERN BRUTALITY. Ill 

You see accounts of Southern brutality occasioiJally. I 
have never believed miich of that — knowing some noble 
Southerners. But I am satisfied. A clergyman of this 
county, I will not give his name, a man who only from com- 
pulsion became silent as to the guilt of secession, assures me 
on his honor, that " Yankee skulls " were hawked about his 
toM^n after the Bull Run battle at ten dollars apiece. Spurs, 
also, were made of jaw-bones, to his personal knowledge.* 
A member of his own church, who was at Bull Run, told 
him that hundreds of bodies were left headless for such pur- 
poses. But I am not at all sm-prised. I have ceased to feel 
any wonder at the brutalities of a slaveholding people. 

Notwithstanding the occupation of Winchester by the 
" Northern vandals," shops are open as usual, and last Sab- 
bath the churches were occupied. I took the opportunity to 
attend service with the Methodists. 

The minister of tliat church was known as a Union man ; 
indeed, a printed sermon of his before the " Young Men's 
Christian Association " of Winchester, attacked secession 
without gloves, and it forced him subsequently to hide. I 
chose his church because, although the Presbyterian would 
have hit my doctrinal notions a little better, that is rank 
" secesh," and I will have nothing to do with " secesh " i-eligion, 
not even in those eminently Christian evangelicals of England 
who have so meanly lent their influence against us in our time 
of trial. So I went to the Methodist church. The building 
is a very substantial and quite well-proportioned edifice, of 
brick, -with " circular " pews, an elegant marble pulpit, and 
galleries ; and it Avill be quite cheerful and pleasant when they 

* I afterwards saw some of these articles ; and rings worn by women, 
who boasted they were made of Yanlcee bones. 



112 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

rub oft' the lying pillars and recesses evidently colored in 
imitation of each shade of dirt in the valley. The house was 
well fdled, hundreds of soldiers being added to the congi'ega- 
tion of citizens. There Avas no organ, or other musical in- 
strument, but a choir of perhaps twenty singers excellently 
led the congregation. I wondered, on entering, for what dig- 
nitaries the alternate tiers of pews were reserved ; but they 
were soon occupied by women. Men and Avomen sit in sep- 
arate pews. I had never seen this silly custom before. 

Rev. Mr. McReading, formerly in Boston, noAV chaplain of 
an Illinois regiment, offered prayer. It Avas a cjood prayer. The 
pastor preached from these texts : " We preach Christ cruci- 
fied." " God forbid that I should glory," &c. " I determined 
not to know anything," &c. His theme, as announced, Avas 
" Christ crucified, the centre of the Christian system." The 
discourse, which was extempore, had in it a gi'eat deal of 
good thought, put forth in very rash language, and mixed 
up in a heterogeneous manner. It Avould do him a AA^orld of 
good to be put under our revered and beloA^ed professor of 
pastoral theology at AndoA^er for a year. The preacher's 
evident sincerity Avas impressive. I could endure his pro- 
nouncing soi-disant " saAvy-dizzen," for he did not call guard 
" gorrd," here " yur," as peoj^le here generally do. I could 
even be Avilling that he should suddenly wheel around and 
address the minister in his pulpit. But one thing spoiled the 
sermon for me. He told four falsehoods. 

These : Avith a plan AAdiich could not be decently developed 
in less than an hour and a half, he said he Avas going to ad- 
dress us "a feAv brief remarks : " he hnew better ; he kncAvhe 
lied. Farther on he said, " but I promised brevity, and Avill 
come to an end : " he Avas only one third through ! Still 
farther on, he begged our " attention to this remark, with 



A PRO-SLAVERY GOSPEL. 113 

which he would conchidc : " but after the remark was attended 
to he began on a new set of exhortations. By and by, "• one 
word more, which is all I have to say." " One word ! " he 
talked on to the amount of at least jfive pages of sermon 
paper, and had an application after that. I presume that 
this preacher is an estimable citizen, and in private life, 
honest. It is truly to be regretted that he, or any other 
preacher, should thus utter falsehoods while presenting the 
most solemn truths. '' One word more ! " What a mean 
lie! 

Of course, the gospel hereabouts is set in a pro-slavery 
frame. Ministers occasionally own their fellow-beings. I 
used to think that I would admit a brother minister into 
my pulpit careless of the question Avhether he were a slave- 
holder or not. I would not do it now. I will not say that 
there are not many slave-owners who are Christians ; I know 
some whom I do respect and love ; some who labor and pray 
for the conversion of their slaves, as those for whom they 
must give an account a^ the day of judgment. But a slave- 
holding minister — I could not endure that. I am no fanatic. 
I never even voted a " Republican" ticket. But this eight 
months' campaign on slave soil, in localities Avhere slavery as- 
sumes its mildest type, has made me feel — and I do assure my 
conservative ministerial brethren that the whole system is 
infamous. " The sins of slavery ! " There are none ; it is 
slaveholding itself that is the sin. Its effect on the masters 
is one of its greatest evils ; it perverts the conscience, warps 
the intellect, brutalizes the heart. Believe no such nonsense 
as that " the slaves are contented." They, with no noticea- 
ble exception, long to be free. Nor is there any difficulty in 
settling the slave question so far as our armies go. The 
property is thenceforth good for nothing. Crowds of blacks 
10* 



114 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

forsake their masters at the first opportunity. lu this very- 
place, over and over again, do they say, " I have worked so 
many years for my master, now I want to work for myself." 
They are docile, peaceable, and industrious. They say, 
" only hire us and try us." Can it be that government means 
to remand these now happy fugitives again to their oppres- 
sors ? As an army, we have nothing to do with slaveiy. We 
neither entice, nor drive back. The blacks take cai'e of 
themselves. I was amused with one case at Charlestown. 
A master refused to sell any chickens, even, " because," said 
he, " I must feed my poor servants, who will never leave 
me ; " and he wanted a guard over his property. In a few 
days his " poor servants " were aU gone, and this aristocratic 
son of one of the "first families of Virginia" was himself 
taking care of his solitary cow and pig. 



Stuasbcrg, Va., March 28, 18C2. 

Across the main street in Winchester, in front of the 
court-house, on Monday last, was suspended the sentence 
" Theatrical performances here every evening." But within 
the court-house, in every available spot, lay the wounded, the 
dying, and the dead. On Tuesday was suspended a notice, 
" No performance this evening." But within, surgeons were 
using the knife and the saw, nurses were dressing ghastly 
wounds, and, in spite of all care, scores were passing into 
eternity. 

This was but one of four hospitals. 

It was at sundown, on Friday, when our brigade returned 
to Winchester, after a fifteen-mile march, called back by the 
battle, and I went immediately to the hospitals. It was om* 



THE BATTLE OF KERNSTOWN. 115 

great misfortune not to be near the contest. Had our brig- 
ade been there, with its good fighting blood and the military 
abilities of its officers, there is every reason to believe that 
General Jackson's force would have been cut to pieces, 
instead of retiring in very tolerable order. It is a great dis- 
appointment to us ; but we had gone where ordered. 

The battle was fought about three miles below Winchester, 
on the Strasburg pike. General Jackson's policy had been 
to keep this Avhole corps in the Winchester valley ; and with 
constant annoyance by Ashby's cavalry, and the skilful 
use of his other forces, he succeeded. We had entered 
Winchester after very slow approaches, without opposition, 
Jackson retiring to a safe distance with his inferior numbers. 
Whether a different plan would not have captured, or at 
least broken up, his force, it is for others to say, if they 
would. Jackson made a great mistake when he risked the 
battle. He was led to suppose, by information from the 
secessionists there, that Winchester had been evacuated by 
all our forces excepting a provost guard, Avhile in reality the 
whole of General Shields's division lay sheltered by hills. 
The information went mainly from secession Avomen, whose 
bitter zeal led to the melancholy slaughter of many of their 
own relatives. 

So, on Saturday, a portion of his cavalry drove in our 
pickets. It^vas not supposed that it was more than Ashby's 
lively troops, with a couple of pieces of artillery. Some 
little fighting took place on Saturday afternoon, in which 
General Shields's arm Avas broken by a shell. Desultory 
shots Avere exchanged all vSunday, and it was not until 
the afternoon that it Avas found that Jackson Avas present in 
force. Our troops then, at about four o'clock, Avere sent out 
to the amount of eijrht regiments, Avith several batteries. 



116 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN". 

Colonel Kimball, of Indiana, commanded. Jackson's force, 
as it appeared from rolls captm'cd, comprised twelve small 
regiments, five hundred cavalry, and twenty-seven pieces of 
artillery, of which latter, two thirds appeared to be kept in 
reserve. As you go out of Winchester, about three miles, 
the enemy had posted some artillery on the left side of the 
road, supported by infantry, but the bulk of his force was 
stationed on a commanding wooded ridge, running at an 
angle with the road, which is low. Our ti'oops were formed 
a short distance towards Winchester, in a corresponding 
curve, our artillery principally on a ridge, unfortunately a 
little lower than theirs, and our infantry somewhat sheltered 
behind it. Our troops drove them back at first, but they 
regained and strengthened their position on the wooded 
ridge, whence they poured a destructive fire. It was neces- 
sary to end this artillery engagement, and at the end of one 
or two hours' hard fighting our infantry were ordered to 
turn their left flank. It appears that Jackson had similarly 
ordered an attempt to turn our right. Our infantry, there- 
fore, encountered theirs, and with hard fighting drove them 
back. Theirs was sheltered by a stone wall, and did great 
damage. Their battery there Avas making havoc, and two 
regiments charged upon it, and, Avith much loss, captured 
it. A charge was made upon the centre, the enemy broke, 
and the field was ours. But Jackson retired in very tolera- 
ble order. He has since kept so. The pursuit commenced 
the next day, has never, I believe, encountered anything 
more than his rear guard, skilfully fighting and then retiring. 
He is now doubtless safely encamped some dozen miles from 
our advanced force. I read in the papers of the 26th the 
foUowino: : — 



THE BATTLE-FIELD. 117 

" The loss of the rebels must have been enormous. They 
haye abandoned their wagons along the road, fiUed with 
dead and wounded, and the houses on the route are found 
crowded with their wounded and dying. 

" The dwellings in the town, adjacent to the battle-field of 
Sunday, are also found filled with the wounded. 

" The inhabitants aided the rebel soldiers in carrying off 
their wounded during the day, and burying them quickly as 
soon as dead. 

" Our artillery makes terrible havoc among the enemy in 
their flight, and the rout bids fair to be one of the most 
dreadful of the war." 

Two thirds of this is pure invention. The rebels suffered, 
and worse than we did. Success remains ^vith us, and the 
enemy have retreated. And that is all. 

Not all. The battle-field is there. I visited it for a few 
minutes on Tuesday morning. Whatever excitement there 
is in the time of action, the next day's look excites only mel- 
ancholy. It was a raw and chilly morning, and there lay, 
soon to be bui'ied, more than two hundred corpses. Most of 
them were as they had fallen, in every position, but most 
with their faces upturned. Here were men shot in the 
head ; there a limb shattered ; there a slight hole in the 
breast ; and again, a shell had shattered every feature. In 
one spot was a pile of over tAventy, mainly from the accurate 
bursting of a shell in their midst. In another place, their 
concentrated infantry had suffered terribly from our mus- 
ketry. A few soldiers were guarding the spot from all dep- 
redation. Women were there searching for dead friends and 
relatives. It was hard to realize, in that calm and silent air, 
that a few hours before, the scene had been terrific with con- 



118 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

flict, and full of slaughter. But the silent and mangled dead 
bore witness, and I wished that Jeflerson Davis could have 
been brought face to face with every corpse, and it be said to 
him, " Your infernal ambition tilled this man." 

The hospitals remain also. Four places were thus oc- 
cupied, — the court-house, the Union Hotel, and two smaller 
buildings. I was able to visit three of the four on Monday 
evening, and until we moved on at six o'clock on Tuesday. 
As you entered the court-house, the outer room was occupied 
with dead laid side by side, and reverently covered, and 
each, so far as could be, with a little slip of paper bearing his 
name and that of his regiment. Passing in, every spot, 
save room for the attendants to pass, was occupied by the 
wounded, and now and then one was carried to the dead- 
room. Owing to some strange management, for twenty-four 
hours neither hay nor straw was procured, and the wounded 
men lay upon the floor. When our brigade came, our sur- 
geons immediately volunteered their services. They were de- 
clined ! The surgeons of General Shields's division " needed 
no help," when I saw soldier after soldier waiting impatiently 
for necessary care. The spirit seemed that of some third- 
rate physicians in small towns, who are afraid somebody is 
trying to get away their practice. It was only until a most 
formal application was made Tuesday morning, by our 
brigade surgeon, that the services of ours Avere reluctantly 
accepted. Nevertheless, with or without formalities, our 
surgeons made themselves useful. The two of our own reg- 
iment proved of the greatest service. Our senior surgeon 
remained all night and all day in the court-house, reduced 
things to order, and proved himself most admirably qualified 
for his post. Our assistant surgeon did similar work at the 
Union Hotel. Our hospital steward, with his medicines and 



THE HOSPITAL. 119 

apparatus, was there, and of the greatest use. Our nurses 
were indefatigable. Our litters did most of the work of 
moving the injured from place to place. However much 
disappointment was felt at having no share in the fight, our 
hospital officials did noble service in relieving the unfortunate 
sufferers. 

It was pleasant to see the gentleness and activity of the 
attendants. Hardy men seemed like women in the care of 
children. By and by delicacies came from the people. Mon- 
day evening many people were called upon for beds. To 
the eternal infamy of this rebel town, it was hard to procure 
even a few. One man, living in a fine house, had " no beds 
for damned Yankee soldiers ; let them lie on the ground." 
Women, on Tuesday morning, brought luxuries " for South- 
ern soldiers," while with us there was no friend, no foe, only 
wounded men lying there indiscriminately, equally cared 
for. Women came there to abuse and insult us, with ultra 
rebel attacks, in the hearing of our wounded men ; but they 
were speedily sent off. I think the kind treatment of their 
own wounded shamed them into decency ; or, pei'haps, a re- 
fusal to receive anything for one class exclusively. By and by 
they came with supplies, without specifying for which men. 
The inhuman feelings of these people are painful. They are 
full of lies, too, and they have made many believe them. 
One confederate soldier was asked, " Do you have kind 
treatment here?" " Yes," he answered, as if wondering at 
it. "Why, didn't you expect it?" "No; I thought you 
would kill us." " What made you think so? " " We were 
told so." Such is Southern honor. 

1 had the privilege of speaking with many, many soldiers. 
Many were terribly injured. Many were soon to die. Some 
died but a few minutes after. There Avere various feelings. 



120 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

Some few were hardened, but most were glad to see a 
Christian minister. Many more than I expected had a good 
Clmstian hope, and some, who knew they were soon to die, 
were happy. One man, from a Western regiment, was very 
happy, though fatally shot in the neck. He asked me who I 
was. "A chaplain." " Of what denomination ? " " Con- 
gregationalist." " Ah, I don't like them much." " "Why ? " 
" Well, I've met some I didn't think much of. I'm a Meth- 
odist ; been a church member this long while." " But / love 
the Lord Jesus Christ." " Well, then, I guess you are all 
right ; now pray with me." 

One poor fellow of sixteen, from the South, wanted to take 
the oath of allegiance. He knew he must die, but he felt he 
had been in a wrong cause, — his mother had made him go, 
— and if he could take the oath, he should feel better and 
die happier. He took the oath, and died. 

Others hoped to get well and go home. They would never 
engage in the Southern service again. 

One man I can never forget. He was a Southerner. One 
deed had struck him with remorse. He kept his face covered. 
He Avould answer no inquiries. But I got his story at last. 
A few days before, he had gone out with a white flag, enticed 
one of our soldiers near, and then deliberately shot him. 
Wounded now, his mind dwelt only on that. He felt that it was 
murder. He would not have his wounds dressed. Horror- 
struck, he was determined to die. He would admit no hope of 
pardon. But there was an opportunity for forgiveness. " The 
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 

Then there were poor fellows whose thoughts were all of 
home. One mere boy, from Texas, talked of his sister ; and 
he wanted her informed, and sent his dying love. One man, 
a rebel officer, wanted his wife — in Southern Virginia — to 



THE HOSPITAL. 121 

knoAV he died happy, and his blessing to go to his little chil- 
dren. And one had longings for his mother. And so on, 
on, through the long rows and many rooms. 

Strange to say, I felt not the least shrinking in looking on 
the most terrible wounds. Others tell me they felt the same. 
But, more to the purpose, I never felt so strongly the value 
of the way of life Avhich offers forgiveness to sinners in reli- 
ance on the sacrifice of Christ our Lord. What else could 
one have to say in such circumstances ? Tell them to amend 
their lives ? Many would end their lives in a few hours. Tell 
them that sin Avould not be punished? Their own dread 
falsified that. But the simple words, " Repent, and believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ," meets all times and all circumstances. 
He who said to the dying criminal " This night shalt thou be 
with me in paradise," is able " to save unto the uttermost 
all those Avho put their trust in Him." 



Edinburgh, Va., Friday, April 4, 1862. 

I BEGAN to write of our sudden*movement to Strasburg ; 
how gayly, at evening, March 25, our band led off with 
" I Avish I was in Dixie ;" how cold the night became ; how 
we bivouacked by the roadside about one o'clock, five 
miles above Strasburg ; how, the next day, we forded Cedar 
Creek, a rapid and beautiful stream, Avhere the villains had 
destroyed a fine bridge, and were placed just outside of 
Strasburg, in a rough and delightful pine wood ; how, the 
following day, a " scare" sent us forward four or five miles 
beloAv Strasburg, where we camped again. But I did not 
finish it, because I thought something on "outpost duty" 
would be preferable. 
11 



122 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

So I began to write about " twenty-four hours on outpost ; " 
how, last Saturday afternoon, our regiment relieved another 
as outpost ; how we reached the spot about sundown ; how 
the reserve, the grand guards, the pickets, and the sentries, 
were stationed ; how a patrol went out at daybreak, and a 
larger one in the forenoon ; how the rebels spitefully threw a 
couple of shells at our pickets ; how it rained all night and 
was wet all day, and how we "hutted" the best we could 
with boughs and rails ; how it was the strangest Sunday I 
ever spent, barring the preceding, when we watched, at 
Snicker's Ferry, the repairs making on a bridge, built by an 
army engineer, which had broken down, from defects a New 
England carpenter, earning a dollar and a half a day, would 
have been ashamed of, — by which breakage our regiment 
Avas kept back, and its subsequent direction changed. But 
we moved so suddenly, that I got beyond the topic, as we 
did the outpost. 

"We moved thither last Tuesday, April 1. Early in the 
morning came orders to go without tents or baggage. The 
whole corps was to move — each division. Everybody knows 
that General Jackson's Headquarters are at Mount Jackson, 
seven or eight miles below here, where they have been all 
along, and whence he has made his sudden forays. But a 
very skilful rear guard — Ashby's cavalry, with some artil- 
lery and infantry — have been close up to General Banks's 
lines. This was all that was to be encountered. As the 
advance of our corps. Colonel Gordon's brigade was selected, 
and the whole was under his management, — Captain Corth- 
ren's fine New York battery being added, with some cavalry. 
The next brigade was a mile behind. 

Two miles from our camp we halted. The rebel scouts 
and guns were in plain sight on an opposite ridge, sheltered 



THE ADVANCE. 123 

in a wood. A couple of our Parrott guns were put in posi- 
tion with great rapidity ; two or three shells were fired, and 
the rebels suddenly left. 

From that point, the advance was made in regular order. 
Skirmishers and flankers were thrown out, a reserve follow- 
ing, a section of artillery next, and then the next regiments 
of our brigade. It was new to me in certain particulars, as, 
although two or three of our companies had exchanged lively 
shots with the enemy, our regiment, as a whole, had never 
encountered the fellows. And so it may interest somebody's 
mother, or wife, or sister, to see the order of moving, — 
which you will read doAvuAvard. 

9 9 D 



B B B 

A, Three companies, reserve, under Major Dwiglit. — B B B, Five 
platoons, as represented, with Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews. — C, Skir- 
mishers, reaching about 200 yards each side of the road, A being in. 
the road. — D, Artillery. 

In advancing, C is about 130 yards before B, and B about 
300 yards before A. On the skirmishers go, at a cautious 
but steady pace, over fences, walls, or brooks, — keeping 
their distances, each a few paces from the next man, and 
their officers in command, when nearing the enemy ; still they 
must press on, though in open sight. As we moved forward, 
the rebels stopped in the woods, scattering as far out as our 
skirmishers, hiding behind walls and trees, and getting a shot 
as often as possible. It was the first time our regiment had 
been really under fire, but it was beautiful to see how steadily 



124 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

they moved ou, keeping their distances admirably, and firing 
at the scoundrels as coolly as though hunting partridges. 
Both their bravery and their splendid discipline told admira- 
bly ; for it was evidently not a pleasant position to be an 
open mark for concealed rifles. But not a man flinched, and 
a good Providence preserved every life in our regiment ; 
though blood flowed, not a serious casualty occurred on this 
contested march of fifteen miles. The nearest to anything 
fatal occurred to a man whose brass plate on his cross-belt 
was indented by a ball, which, glancing, tore the belt, pene- 
trated three or four thicknesses of clothing, and made a slight 
wound. The force of the bullet was severe, but the plate 
saved his life. A rebel dragoon was observed taking near 
and deliberate aim at one of our officers, but a private seeing 
him, emptied the saddle, and so spoiled that shot. In fact, 
the bullets evidently buzzed thick enough in the early part 
of the march, but the rebels seemed to see quite speedily the 
beauty of our Enfields ; and in fact, we learned from friends 
in a village through which we passed, that the rebels swore 

terribly about those " long-range Yankee rifles." Of 

course Ave soon met with a bridge torn up, and the beams 
partly cut. The Yankees went at it, and in five minutes it 
was passable. 

At three places they made a stand, each time on a capital 
spot. They know every inch of ground here, and it is as 
great a country for fighting, as it is beautiful in scenery. The 
first Avas a little outside of Woodstock, which is quite decent 
looking for a Southern village. As Ave came near the toAvn, 
the rebels had planted their guns on a height just beyond, and 
sixddenly opened Avith Avhizzing, screaming shells. But it 
was no surprise. Colonel Gordon's experienced eye had 
seen the capacities of the ridge, and had halted. We open 



SKIRMISHING. 125 

rauks ; down gallops the artillery ; up to the near ritljje ; 
quick as thought our guns were in position, sighted, fired ; 
" whizz " goes the savage missile, flying through the air ; 
then, in two or three seconds, a sullen sound shows that it 
has exploded, and the pieces are flying in every direction. 
Then another, another, and so on, in immense rapidity, and 
in a few minutes the rebels are driven. We enter Wood- 
stock in quiet, and the alarmed people, over whose heads the 
shells have been flying, come to the doors relieved. Frag- 
ments are lying about in the very streets, and one house 
shows the long scar which a shell scratched as it fell to the 
spot Avhere it exploded. 

Then the same long line of skirmishers for several miles 
again. Then we approach the " Narrow Pass " — where 
the river, suddenly bending, leaves only room for a road. 
You descend the hollow, cross a swift creek, and then ascend 
the " Narrow Pass " — completely commanded by a ridge 
stretching up above. There, again, our commander saw the 
thing needful. He did not hurry up his artillery, but or- 
dered it back, and hastened our regiment into the valley to 
the bridge, halting the other regiments behind the ridge we 
had just passed, and on which he had stationed his guns. 
It was just in time. The rebel guns had not fired their 
second shot, Avhen Captain Corthren opened Avith half a 
dozen replies, and for a little while the scene Avas noisy. Tlie 
Blue Hills echoed back the reports, and the sound rolled up 
the valley in long thunder. The bridge is on fire, as the 
rebels left it, and our men go to work to put it out, and suc- 
ceed. Meantime the storm fell so thick about the rebels, 
that they were driven from their guns, but the height and the 
distance prevented any capture. Then the enemy are silent, 
and finally are running again, and on we march. 
11* 



12G THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

Near Edinburgh we move cautiously. Another stream is 
there, with high banks and lofty ridges on either side. The 
bridges, railroad, and common road are on fire, and the 
enemy have planted thcit guns again. The bridge must be 
rebuilt. So the struggle is for position.. Again our guns 
are hurried on through hastily torn fences, over hollo-\vs and 
rocks, and up on the eminence. Soon both sides are at 
work ; the skirmishers are drawn in ; the Second advances 
at " double quick ; " fortunately, for the range of the enemy's 
guns commands the spot where it had been, and death 
comes where others loiter. There is a sharp fight now, but 
the bridge is ovxrs. It is near night, however, and thougli 
the opposite height is ours when we want it, it is useless. 

Next day was noisy, but that was all. The bridge was 
rebuilt, while the guns on either side were firing at rapid in- 
tervals above. Pennsylvania men did it, and did well. The 
other brigades came up, but of their number, or place, or 
destination I must not speak even the very little that I 
know. 

It is a rainy day in camp. Sometimes I used to enjoy 
rainy days at home, and sometimes I did not. 

They were pleasant when one had a heap of odds and 
ends of work, and a rainy day Avas so good a time to finish 
them up. Or, one wanted a clean day for some special ob- 
ject, and had it then, beginning as soon as breakfast Avas 
over, hardly stopping for dinner, and not caring whether 
" the shades of night were falling fast " or slow. But some- 
times the rainy days seemed dismal ; by reason, doubtless, 
of a moderate fit of the indigoes, warranted not to fade ; or, 
possibly, sometimes from some depressing influence of the air. 
But, on the whole, I used to like rainy days ; not merely for 



AIDS TO THOUGHT. 127 

the opportunity for work, but because it was pleasant to make 
a real visit on one's family, which is rather a rare event. I 
could both work and have the visit. Some people have an 
exclusive and forbidden study. I could not. If I locked the 
door, little feet soon pattered up, and little hands tried the 
handle. Suppose I said, " Busy now ; " then I heard a good- 
natured, but self-satisfied and triumphant voice, " Papa, it's 
me!" "Who could resist that? Me always came in, and 
ME and papa had the best time imaginable, to the detriment 
— no — the decided improvement of writing ; and then me 
would sit do\^^l quietly to play, and not disturb papa. Chil- 
dren improve sermons. Besides, there are two ways of 
thinking and writing. Some people think as the horse-cars 
journey from Jamaica Plain to Boston. From the stables to 
the office at Eliot Street is the Introduction. At the office is 
" first." They jog along to Hyde's Corner, and the conduc- 
tor sings out that name, which means " secondly." At Rox- 
bm-y is the stopping for " thirdly." " Dover Street " means 
" fourthly." And from Boylston Street, various halts let out 
the different parts of the Application, and the office opposite 
the Tremont House is " To conchide." And all the way 
along you must keep on the iron ruts. Get off the track, 
and there is a terrible jolting over the rough pavement before 
you get on again. Indeed, on the track, every stoppage 
loses impetus ; and a stop at rising ground is sometimes ter- 
rible. That's a good way for those that like it. But I 
would rather take a seat with some of my people who have 
fleet horses, as I used to do. You can then start when you 
please ; you can stop of errands ; you can take the smoothed 
roads and dodge the pavements ; you can see a little speed 
on Tremont Road ; and your friend drops you at just 
such part of the city as you wish. However, different peo- 



128 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

pie may have different ways, to advantage. And my way 
was to have few secluded study hours, but to let all hours be 
study ; and to have the freshness of life illumining the cold 
rows of books — Avhich books are capital things for a little 
girl to make houses of. I would as soon think of shutting 
sun and air out of my study as of keeping out my wife and 
child. There is a salutary w^arning in the case of that good 
minister whose grandchild was always di'iven from his study. 
" Mother," said she, " will grandpa be in heaven ! " " Why, 
certainly, my child." " Then it's no use for me to go ; as 
soon as he sees me, he'll say, What's that child here for? 
Go right out of my study ! " I fully believe that that divine's 
accurate " scheme " would have the same resemblance to the 
real living doctrines of the gospel, as the dry, pressed, squared, 
and labelled roots and herbs in an apothecary shop do, to 
the blooming, fragrant, lovely plants out of which they 
were manufactured. 

However, I will go back to the "track" again. Rainy 
days are not pleasant in camp. To-day it snows, it sleets, it 
hails, it rains. The trees are covered with frozen snow, or 
half-melted ice, and every now and then they shake off heavy 
pieces, which rattle down like fragments of shell. The huge 
tops of the pines, away up above their limbless trunks, frozen 
into masses, sway heavily to and fro. Drip, drip, from 
every bough. Pour, pour, in every open spot. The forlorn 
horses stand with drooping heads, looking ashamed of their 
condition and disgusted with Virginia — immovable, except 
when eating their breakfast or dinner. The pet dogs keep 
inside of tents. TJie fronts of our canvas houses are drawn 
outward and open, and great logs support a struggling fire 
just in front, and live coals are placed in holes within the 
tent, provided the holes do not speedily fill with water. 



RAINY DAYS. 129 

Ditches are dug all around the tents, and now and then a 
ditch runs through the tent as a necessary resort. Dripping 
individuals are solemnly chopping wood. Dismal people go 
about their duties, hoping to have as few as possible, but of 
course feeling that, in military service, " to hear is to obey." 
Rubber coats are in active service, and cap covers and ap- 
pended capes shelter the head and neck, in the absence of 
umbrellas, Avhich the government has neglected to furnish. 
Boots Avill get wet ; the soft ground yields to every step, and 
the leather greedily drinks up the moisture. The sentinels, 
in overcoats, pace up and down, as steady as ever, but wet, 
very wet, and with arms sheltered as much as possible from 
the rain. Off on picket somewhere is a company, and we 
talk over their shelterless, fireless condition. The enemy, 
with their insulting, but useless artillery practice from the 
opposite ridge, are doubtless wetter than we are. All soldier- 
ly precaution is taken, and officers and orderlies ride away 
on duties, but v/ith sombre countenances. 

" Hard business, sir, this soldiering," says John to my 
nearest neighbor, the major. 

" Yes, John." 

" Its aisy for them as sits at home with their good fires, to 
read of this victory and that, but its hard for them as has to 
do it, sir." 

" Yes, John." 

" It would do them good to come out here, and try to warm 
themselves by a hole in the ground, sir." 

" True, John." 

The rain, however, does not keep us here, but the plans of 
authority do. Going forward, we could sweep before us 
everything of Jackson's command, which pi'obably consists of 
no more than six or eight thousand. His main camp is said 



130 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

to be at Mount Jackson, a little village about seven miles on- 
ward ; but he Avill hardly remain there when we go on, at 
least no more than to annoy and delay us. A small force, 
his rear guard, under Colonel Ashby, remains opposite us, but 
is of no particular account at present. . Wliy we Avait, of 
course I do not know. Nevertheless, our men Avant to do 
something ; their little fighting the other day sharpened up 
their appetite. 

Last Sunday Ave had public worship again. "We had had 
none, by reason of movements, since we were at Charlestown. 
But last Sabbath Avas a most beautiful day. The air was 
mild and sweet, the sun Avarm. So in a little holloAv near 
us we met in one of " Grod's first temples." Sunday in our 
camp, when Ave are alloAved to remain, is always quiet. I 
have repeatedly noticed hoAV still and homelike it seems. 
Our commander never has any work not absolutely necessary ; 
and although there may be as much evil, yet the stillness is 
alAvays refreshing. Last Svmday even the rebels opposite left 
off their gunnery Saturday night, and waited till Monday 
morning, though I do not know Avhy. For AA'hateA^er reason, 
not a single piece of artillery Avas fired on either side, though 
here and there one could hear the distant sound of a musket. 

Sunday afternoon I called upon a presiding elder of the 
" United Brethren in Christ," Avho lives in the village a mile 
aAvay. He had returned only a day or tAvo before from his 
visits to the churches in his circuit. I Avas very hospitably 
entertained by the Avorthy United Brother, and the excellent 
United Sister, his AA'ife. This denomination, Avhich was novel 
to me, seems exactly like the Methodists in doctrine and gov- 
ernment, — Avitli bishops, presiding elders, itineracy (less res- 
tricted as to time). It is anti-secret society ; will not have a 
freemason in the church. And it is anti-slavery fully. No 



CHANGE IN VIEWS. 131 

slaveholder can be admitted to this membership ; yet they 
have about thirty chm'ches in this valley. They are opposed 
to Avar, but many of their members were pressed into the 
rebel service, and some Avere s^vept a^vay by the torrent of 
secession ; still Ave have many friends among them, and the 
denomination opposed secession to the last. « Since the John 
BroAvn aifair they have met Avith a great deal of persecution, 
Avhich is not strange, AA'hen they Avill refuse admission to the 
master Avhose slaves they Avelcome to the church. Their 
spirit — and I have seen several members — I like exceeding- 
ly, as being meek, humble, laborious, devout. 

Anti-slavery, and yet spreading here for years, and Avith 
thirty churches in this limited locality. "Who can say that 
slavery could have lived if the poAverful Presbyterian, Epis- 
copal, Baptist, Methodist, denominations here had resisted it 
like these poor United Brethren ? Who can deny that the 
Southern churches, therefore, are the bulwark of slavei'y, and 
that Northern churches, which silently or actively fraternize 
with them, are so far forth participants in the giant sin of the 



ase 



You alluded, a fsAV wee*ks ago, to my " conservative " pro- 
clivities. Other papers have done the same, but they erred 
in supposing I ever believed slavery to be right. I only 
objected to " agitation," as meddling with Avhat Avas neither 
politically nor religiously our business. Therein did I err, 
both politically and religiously. And still that very error, 
the very going so far in defending Avhat seemed the constitu- 
tional rights of the South, has made swarms of old democrats 
noAV the bitterest foes of the oligarchy which dared lay its 
hands on that constitution, in defending whose apparent 
guarantees they had been left in a hopeless minority, been 
censured and reproached, and been placed even in a false 



132 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN, 

position as to their real sentiments. Religiously, we have 
no right to ignore the claims of suffering millions ; we never 
had. Politically, the existence of a republican government 
over its thirty-four States, rrtjw necessitates the destruction 
of slavery ; whether immediate or future be the result, the 
commencement of its destruction must be oiow. What meas- 
ures are necessary, I am not qualified to say. It is a hard 
question. But pardon me this new reference to the great 
cause of the rebellion while I say a few things more. 

I quote now from some conservatives. 

Said I, to a girl of about sixteen, at the house of whose mas- 
ter I passed the night, " Do you know what we are here for ? " 

" I specs you's here to free us." 

" Do you want to be free? " 

" I does." 

" Don't you like your master?" 

" No, sir." 

"Why?" 

" He sold my mother." 

"When?" 

" Twelve years ago." 

" But your master looks like a kind man, and treats us 
kindly." 

" I know he looks so, but he ties me up and whips me with 
a cowhide." 

The tones of the girl were inexpressibly sad. I liave never 
found anything but hopelessness and utter despair. 

At the house of a Virginian near , the proprietor's 

apparent cordiality Avas induced by fear. While at table, we 
were waited on by a bright-looking yellow woman, about 
twenty-five years of age. I questioned her of the rebels ; 
she spoke intelligently but hurriedly, and in low tones, as if 



SLAVERY. 133 

desiring to communicate with us, and yet afraid her master 
might hear. 

" Do you like to live with your master?" 

" No, sir." 

"Then why do you?" 

" "\¥here shaU I go ? " 

" North." 

" "What will I do with my family, and how shall I leave 
my friends ; we can't all go, and how can we be separated? 
Besides, we thought we'd bettoji wait for the law." 

"What law?" 

" Why, the law that is going to be passed to free us." 

She added, also, " This is our home. We don't want to 
leave it. We are willing to work." 

There was a man near Snicker's Ferry who made many 
abolitionists. Nobody suspected he was a slave. He was 
no darker than a browned soldier. His hair was straight, 
just turning gray. Pie was the son of his own master. His 
Avife was the daughter of her master. A more pious man it 
would be hard to find. As he told of his early dissatisfac- 
tion with his lot, there were tears in men's eyes. Now, he 
was resigned. He thanked God that his children had not 
been sold away from them. But, hopeless as he now was in 
approaching age, he did wish his children might be free, and 
live in a different sphere. Sad, yet religiously happy — 
resigned, but ambitious for the children so fair, so white, so 
intelligent. 

Now I select these three cases out of many, as fair illustra- 
tions, and for several principles. 

1. In the mildest type of slavery, girls of sixteen are tied 
up and flogged by their masters Avith cowhides. 

2. Men hold their own children in slavery. 

12 



134 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

3. The slaves do not want to leave their homes, but pro- 
fess a readiness to work for wages ; and if the resources of 
this sectiot Avere decently developed, they could not do half 
the work. 

4. The slaves exhibit the strongest family attachments ; 
repeatedly preferring to remain in a slavery they dishke, 
rather than leave husband, wife, or children. 

5. They are peaceably disposed, but sad and depressed. 

6. They are, as a class, more intelligent, more industri- 
ous, more civilized, than the " poor whites," though with 
less natural vigor of character. 

7. They are looking, with intense longing, for legal re- 
dress. 



Near, Newmarket, Va., April 2'4, 1862. 

"We move by fits and starts. A week ago this morning, 
after, I don't know how long a residence, we left Edinburgh. 
We had remained there, I suppose, as long as we did, because 
the corps lacked provisions and shoes. The intended, and 
partly accomplished, removal of General Williams' division 
to Centreville, had sent on the division supply train, and 
that had to come sloAvly back. In addition thereto, the mis- 
erable railway from Harper's Ferry to Winchester used to 
give out once a day or so. And still further, it was, of 
course, difficult to foresee that men would need shoes ; nor is 
it very Avonderful that nobody supposed that shoes, given out 
new on the morning of a march over a plain, smooth road, 
would have holes clean through the soles at night, as various 
pairs did. But the various vexations overcome, we were to 
follow up Jackson ; and now a General Oi'der congratulates 
the corps that the Virginia Valley is cleared of an armed 
enemy. 



A SUNRISE MARCH. 135 

General Shields's division moved in the night. Ours in the 
morning following. Reveille beat at a quarter past two ; 
we were" in line of march at four. There was no excitement 
in following another division ; the advance is far pleasanter. 
But we could enjoy the scenery and the day. The faint 
light in the east was struggling with, and soon to over- 
come, the clear moonlight. The denser column of fog, along 
the river, half hid the mountain-range rising beyond it, clear 
and sharp in outline. We crossed the creek at Edinburgh, 
after waiting till near sunrise, and moved onward in the 
most delightful scenery and air imaginable. 

It is hard to imagine more beautiful views than one meets 
in this valley. Varying from ten to thirty miles in width, 
bounded by lofty and rude mountain-ranges, watered by 
rapid rivers or foaming creeks, the undulating lands, now 
wooded, now gently swelling fields, noAV green meadows, 
change the landscape almost constantly. The winter wheat 
was clothing many an acre with the liveliest green. Peach- 
trees were just making ready to bloom. Now and then one 
saw hyacinths and heart' s-ease by the roadside. And robins 
and swallows were flying about in the greatest glee. Such 
it was, as sunrise bathed the whole scene in richest glory. 
But for the occasional roar of artillery miles onward, and the 
succession of burning bridges which we regularly met, it 
would have seemed the embodiment of peace. But the 
plough was idle in the field. The fences were broken down. 
The relics of straAV and the brands showed the recent bivou- 
acks. The men were away at Avar. The past thirty years 
of retrograde were rapidly accumulating the ruin of the 
valley. Beautiful, but decaying. Beautiful, but deceitful. 
Consumption and fever are the bane of this lovely spot ; and 
tyranny and ignorance are ruining its population. 



136 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Every bridge for. miles was burning. The hurrying enemy 
foolishly supposed this Avould delay our march ; but there 
was a ford at every place, and Avhere our artillery was 
stopped, Yankee eyes saw the railroad crossing a few rods 
above, and dashed over safely. So we \vent on to Mount 
Jackson. 

There we waited for several hours. Why, I do not know, 
nor was it any of my business. Two or three miles onward 
was Rood's Hill, the place which Jackson held in force. 
Mount Jackson itself is not a hill, but a village. Here the 
enemy hadr built large hospitals, and evidently expected to 
remain. While waiting I went into them. The hospital 
flags were still flying, those little safeguards which are a sure 
protection in all civilized warfare. But the sick had all been 
removed ten days previous, to the number of nearly five hun- 
di*ed. The buUdings were admirably contrived and con- 
structed. In addition to two or three small ones, there were 
two completed and one nearly so, of perhaps a hundred and 
fifty feet in length, two stories in height, perfectly ventilated, 
and yet warm. The i;pper stories were entered from the 
outside by plenty of broad and easy stairways, and the whole 
showed better skill than usual. 

Near by wei'e two graveyards. In one, there were some 
fifty or sixty graves of soldiers, each with head-boards dis- 
tinctly lettered. I noticed that there were buried there, in 
addition to Virginians, men from North and South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana. Poor fellows ; to die 
away from home, and in an unjust cause ! 

Near by was the raili"oad station, the terminus of the 
Manassas road. The rebels were determined we should have 
no use of it. The engine-house was in smoking rviins. The 
engine was as well broken up as they knew hoAv to do it. 



REBEL VANDALISM. 137 

Remnants of passenger cars, and a long line of freight cars, 
Avere still burning. I cannot understand the love of tlie 
rebels for destruction of property. The bridges on the com- 
mon roads they destroyed, the bi'idges their own South must 
rebuild, when it could not delay our forces ten minutes. And 
these cars they burned belonging to a private corporation, 
while their uselessness, if left unhurt, is clear from the fact 
that on the line of the road every wooden bridge, many a one 
of great cost and labor, is destroyed. And if the bridges 
Avere to be rebuilt, it is pei'fectly easy to obtain rolling stock 
from the other end of the road. But they seem to have a 
passion for destruction, even when at their own expense, and 
when perfectly useless. 

Our waiting at Mount Jackson ended. General Shields's 
division was to advance on the main road ; but to us was 
given as hard toil as we had ever had. Colonel Gordon's 
brigade, Avith tAvo or three regiments of Colonel Donelly's, 
Avas ordered to make a flank movement to the right. Noav 
Ave left our good turnpike travelling, and took a " dirt " road. 
Dirt road it was — muddy, stony, and rough. For tAvo miles 
it led Avestward by the side of a rapid stream, Avhose poAA'er 
is wasted on a few little mills. Then we crossed it. It was 
fordable — that is, wade-able, and our soldiers emerged thor- 
oughly wet. Bending southward, we were soon opposite 
Rood's Hill, and now and then a cannon shot came to our 
ears. They were speeding courtesies to the rebels, Avho, of 
course, saw the flanking process, and knoAving that if it suc- 
ceeded they were prisoners, left in disgust. 

You suggest a doubt whether the report is true that many 

of Jackson's men being forced into the army, Avill not fight. 

There is CA^ery reason to suppose that it is true, so far as this, 

that he cannot rely on them. It is stated on good authority, 

12* 



138 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

that Jackson asked the opinion of his oiTiccrs whether to 
stand at Rood's Hill, Avhich is a narrow ridge commanding 
open ground for a mile or two, itself guarded by a river on 
each side, and not overlooked by any accessible position. His 
officers favored a fight, but he overruled them, on the ground 
that he could not depend upon a portion of his force. 

However, we plodded on, turning more to the east. We 
passed through a mean and dirty village called Forestville, 
probably because there is hardly a tree there ; crossed another 
stream, where our pioneers had made a sliglit bridge ; ascended 
and descended ledges ; waited for artillery, stuck fast every 
now and then. It was bad enough by daylight ; but when 
the sun had set, the march was execrable. It became very 
dark ; the road led through woods ; some of our men were 
even barefoot ; and Avhen, at half past eight, we turned into 
a wood, and built fires, and had our supper, and piled up 
leaves, and spread out blankets, everybody was ready for the 
slumber that awaited all but the guard. It was a beautiful 
night to sleep, and few, after eighteen miles of the hardest 
travel, moved till reveille. 

The next morning we Avent on to rejoin the corps. The 
march had nothing noticeable save one ford. It was through 
the north fork of the Shenandoah. Water ^Vas high, the 
bottom rough, the river wide, the current exceedingly rapid. 
It took two hours to pass. Now and then a man was doAvn ; 
and now and then a horse. Six horses found it diflicult to 
take a gun through ; and one caisson obstinately refused to 
budge from the middle of the stream until horses were 
changed, and ten of them exerted their strength. It Avas a 
scene of order, but of exceeding bustle. 

Two miles more brought us to Newmarket. For a descrip- 
tion of this place, turn to any of my allusions to Southern vil- 



IN CAMP. 139 

lages. This one had, however, a rather pretty church, Lutheran 
in name. It had also a graveyard, from which, as we haked 
by it, I took from one of the best marble stones the following 
mixture of fact and piety : — 

" He Tvas taken sick the eleventh of June, 
And only lived ten days ; 
But he's gone to rest in heaven above, 
And sing his Saviour's praise." 

From which I gathered that it is considered extremely remark- 
able here that a man should go to heaven who was taken sick 
on the eleventh of June, and who had so short a sickness. 

Yankee Doodle brought out the population of Newmarket 
extensively, but we could not wait. There is a strong Union 
sentiment here, as there is all through the valley, and of the 
most intelligent class, excepting the few wealthy proprietors. 
This sentiment only needs to be favored to make it extremely 
powerful ; that it has not been more attended to, I suppose is 
owing to the fact that the Union class is dark-colored. 

Two miles out of Newmarket we went into camp. It had 
begun to rain a little before we reached the camping place, 
and we were glad to be located. Do not, however, have too 
exalted ideas of the shelter ; we had no tents, nor have had 
any until yesterday, although, saving yesterday, it has rained 
steadily. The shelters are improvised of rails, straw, and 
such like. Two rails, fastened together near the top, with 
legs spread out, form one support ; two more form another ; 
a rail is laid on top between the two, and from this horizontal 
cross rail, other rails slope to the ground ; straw js laid on, 
often plastered with mud ; some rubber blankets are hung up 
inside ; and if the wind happens to be right, the shelter will 
keep off about half the wet ; if the wind is wi-ong, it doesn't 
keep off any. Outside is mud, mud, mud. Yet our men are 



140 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN, 

cheerful and manly. Notwithstanding they have done more 
Avork and borne more hardship, tenfold, than regiments sent 
by steam direct, and then allowed the opportunity to show 
themselves brave, notwithstanding the exposure to disease 
and bullets for months vipon months, which the Second, the 
Twelfth, and the Thirteenth Massachusetts have had to en- 
dure, and for which they get no name upon their banner, 
while others, newer in service, get the glory of some fortunate 
opportunity, which our men are not allowed, yet they feel 
that the work they do is still for their country and necessary, 
and they bear it cheerfully. Though not always able to see 
why a rich government leaves them exposed to cold storms, 
without shelter, for days, while their tents are but a few 
miles off, and no enemy near, yet they endure hardness as 
good soldiers. 

Contrabands are frequent. All tell the same story, all de- 
sire to be free, all seem ready to Avork. Here is one instance : 

" Can you take care of yovirself, Sam?" 

"I should think I might," is the reply. "I hire myself 
out, make my own bargains, and carry the money to my 
master." 

Here is another : 

" How is it with you? Can you take care of yourself? 

" Gosh a-mighty, massa ; guess I can. Been taking car* 
of self and old massa dis twenty year. Guess can take car' 
of dis nig all alone." 

Which was sound loffic. 



Harrisonburg, Va., May 1, 1862. 
Harrisonburg, shire town of Rockingham county, is su- 
perior in appearance to any town in the valley which we 



HARRISONBURG. 141 

have thus far seen, though quite inferior in size to Winches- 
ter. Its people certainly behave a gi-eat deal better. Win- 
chester people, especially most of the women, act as though 
their hearts were " set on fire of hell." In addition to an 
evident lack of decent breeding, they show a want of all 
those humanized feelings which civilized nations show even 
to enemies. The barbarous institutions under which they 
live keep them down to barbarous levels. But in Harrison- 
burg, the inhabitants are decently courteous ; and, indeed, 
there is, if true sentiments could be spoken without danger, 
a great deal of Union feeling. But who can wonder that 
they are afraid to speak openly, when they fear to be again 
deserted to the cruelties of rebels, as the Union people were 
last summer by Patterson, in the upper part of the valley ? 
The evil result of Patterson's failure Avas not merely the loss 
of Bull Run ; his leaving Union people to the terrible ven- 
geance of secessionists caused a sad distrust and fear. Better 
lose a battle than to abandon loyal citizens. 

Harrisonburg is the centre of probably the best wheat 
county in Virginia. Nothing can be more beautiful, agricul- 
turally, than the broad fields now covered with living green. 
The town itself has very good shops, a court-house, two or 
three hotels, and six churches, viz., two Presbyterian (New 
and Old School), two Methodist (North and South), a Lu- 
theran, and an " Ironsides " Baptist, besides other civilizing 
institutions, which I will not venture to mention. 

For this place we left our camp (I mean our regiment did) 
on Friday last. We were glad to get away from the mud, 
though with little prospect of improvement. Still any change 
would be for the better. Some of vis had had our meals at a 
house near by, owned with, I believe, eighteen hundred acres 
of land, by a present brigade-quartermaster in the rebel ser- 



142 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

vice. The family, except the head, were tliere, and the con- 
flict between hospitality and enmity was entertaining. A 
guard was allowed the premises, as is very common ; and 
the good lady, on our leaving, felt bound to say that the men 
of our regiment had treated her and hers with courtesy ; in 
fact, she said, Virginians could not have acted more like 
gentlemen. Our men always bear that character. The 
thirty or forty slaves of the place she notified to take care of 
themselves in future, as have others in the valley. She 
might as Avell, as the slaves evidently intend to do so, with 
or without permission. 

It was a raw day when we made our march of fourteen 
miles, but it did not rain, for a wonder. We are now in 
camp, a little above Harrisonburg, in a pleasant, open wood. 
It rains now, of course. Of course it is muddy. Of course 
any number of brooks run across the roads. But we are 
well sheltered noAv, and the regiment is in very good health. 
It is a curious fact that wet feet hurt nobody if you keep 
them wet all the time. 

Sunday was a beautiful day. I felt glad, because we 
could have public worship. But after arrangements were 
all made, suddenly there came an order to go out on recon- 
noissance towards the Shenandoah. On the other side of 
that river is Jackson, said to be reenforced. The bridge is 
piled Avith straw, and everything is ready to set it into a 
blaze as soon as we should attempt to cross. The road we 
took on reconnoissance is a " dirt " road, of a very mean 
kind, and very mean of its kind. Mud, brooks, and rocks 
are its constituents, Avith here and there a rod or two of de- 
cent road to hold the rest together. I have seen hard roads 
in NcAV Hampshire, but never anything equal to a Virginia 
dirt road. Their only redeeming feature is rail fence, 



A RECONNOISANCE. 143 

which makes a most beautiful fire when you stop for the 
night. 

On this road we advanced until we were eleven miles from 
camp ; we, the Twenty-seventh Indiana, and somebody's 
battery, and somebody's else cavalry, — Vermont cavalry, I 
think, — which, for goodness of horses and dash of men 
beats any other cavalry we have seen. Soon after leaving 
Harrisonburg we met Colonel Donelly's brigade, which was 
coming in from an advanced camp. I do not exactly under- 
stand what a reconnoissance was intended to discover, made 
to the same spot which regiments had just left ; but I have 
no doubt there was some brilliant result obtained. A little 
brush between our cavalry and Ashby's took place, resl^lting 
in an exchange of one of our men for two of theirs. The 
day before their cavalry drove in our pickets ; one man, I 
forget his regiment, did not reach cover, in consequence of 
taking the wrong direction ; he hence was virtually a pris- 
oner, but the rebels preferred to shoot him, and as he lay 
wounded, shot him again. This is rebel chivalry. 

Farther on a few of us stopped for dinner. The men of 
the companies carry food in their haversacks, but some of us 
have to trust to the road. "We stopped at a good-looking 
house, speedily obtained our dinner, and fed our horses. It 
was a very intelligent family ; books were quite plenty, and 
flowers were far more common than usual. Many of the 
books were religious, and Presbyterian papers abounded, 
though few of late date. I should not mention, perhaps, this 
wayside dining, but that one thing carried my mind back 
suddenly to home. It was a " balm-of-gilead tree." Don't 
laugh at it, anybody. At the farm of my birthplace there 
used to be, by the gate, a noble tree of that kind. It had 
stood for many yeai's, and there I used to love to sit or play. 



144 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

When a boy I went once a year to see grandparents, uncles, 
and cousins. There was a house fall of these. But one day 
there came a hail storm of unprecedented fury, and in it the 
old tree Avas killed. Out of the root, it is true, there came 
up little ones, but they never grew to be large and beautiful. 
When I saAV this one in Virginia, my mind was full of the 
old homestead, grandfather thep active, grandmother, a min- 
ister's daughter, meek and pious, and all the numerous house- 
hold who made the home so happy. Gone the older ; gone 
or scattered almost all the middle generation ; gone, not a 
few of the youngest, into the world of silence ; and the old 
place is different now. So do we often think here of home, 
at slight provocations. When rising from a prayer in hos- 
pital once, I heard " that seems just like my home" mur- 
mured almost dreamily by a very sick and weak man. Home ! 
Happy those whose thoughts of home are so linked with 
prayer and praise. 

We turned about. And a little after dark had reached 
camp again. Our men were sadly fatigued, but they 
had marched splendidly, over a road of twenty-two miles, 
equivalent to a good road of at least thirty, in little more, if 
any, than ten hours. Here we stUl are ; and in this vicinity, 
I doubt not, we remain until Yorktown matters progress for 
the timing of our movement. But I hnoio nothing about it. 
In the mean time we are eighteen miles from the post-office 
of the corps. Think of that, you who have mails two or 
three times a day. 



Strasburg, Va., May 16, 1862. 
We learn from the newspapers that our corps is now at 
Staunton, and aiming for Richmond. We learn, also, that 



SLOW MOVEMENTS. 145 

Jackson has evacuated the valley. Neither statement is 
true. We advanced ; Jackson retired. We reached Harri- 
sonburg ; Jackson crossed the middle Shenandoah, and rested 
at the opposite end of the bridge which he had piled with 
combustibles, towards Swift River Gap. We threw out 
forces towards the bridge ; Jackson watched them with cav- 
alry scouts. 

Then the corps retired. General Banks's headquarters 
had never advanced beyond Newmarket, eighteen miles north 
of Harrisonbm-g, and have now come back to this place, 
thirty-one miles north of Newmarket. Jackson has been 
reenforced, and appears to have re-occupied Harrisonburg, 
and even farther north. From General Banks's corps Gen- 
eral Shields's division has been detached, and has gone over 
— somewhere. General Williams's division remains here, 
where fortifications were begun some time ago. This place 
is the key to the valley ; the practical termination of the 
Manassas Gap railway, over which road trains now run to 
within two miles of this place, and will run in on Monday 
next ; and a very strong natural position. 

The slow advance of this corps is apologetically attributed, 
in newspaper editorials, to bad roads and deficient supplies. 
As to roads, your Spectator said. May 5, that General Banks 
found them in " shocking condition " in the same paper in 
which I spoke of " plain, smooth " roads. Now there is no 
part of New England whose main avenues are better than 
those of this valley. By-roads are bad ; but the principal 
lines are direct, macadamized turnpikes, built in large part 
by the State. An army could advance with perfect ease and 
great rapidity. So far as the matter of supplies is con- 
cerned, there has been no difficulty which energy could not 
have easily remedied. The reason, therefore, of the exceeding 
13 



146 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

slowness of movements, and the present retrograde, is to be 
found in other directions, and is, in all probability, attributa- 
ble to directions from Washington. Weeks ago, had it been 
desu'ed, we could have been beyond Staunton, and have swept 
every foe out of our path ; but at the risk of having our com- 
munication cut off. 

Our regiment remained in camp at Harrisonburg until on 
Sunday, May 4. About sundown that day tents were 
struck, and eveiy one packed. We were ordered out to the 
road, and half a mile towards Harrisonburg, and there had 
the comfort of a sudden bivouac. At gray morning we 
marched — not soutlnvard as we expected, but northward, 
eighteen miles or thereabouts ; passed through Newmarket 
village, and had tents pitched by about eight in the evening. 

But at one o'clock in the morning Ave were ordered out. A 
mile or more east of Newmarket is the Masanutten range, or 
part of a range which reaches from Strasburg just fifty miles 
southward, dividing the valley in two long parts. On the 
other side of the range Avas General Sullivan. In the evening 
Ave had noticed the lights of the signal corps on top of the 
gap, flitting backAvard and forward. They were telling some 
scarecroAV story about the needs of General Sullivan against 
a threatening force of tAvelve thousand men ; and our brigade, 
tired as it Avas Avith an eigliteen miles march over a dusty 
road, must climb up the hills and down the other side. There 
Avas no help for it. 

Turning at right angles from NeAvmarket, the road grad- 
ually descended for a mile or more toward a rapid river. 
The air was damp and chilly ; the misty darkness allowed 
only vague and spectral views ; alld to enjoy both, an artillery 
train, ordered to report at the covered bridge, stopped us for 
a detestable hour, until some piece of red tape somewhere 
could be accurately measured. 



NEEDLESS MARCH. 147 

But we climbed the hill. There was no hard climbing, 
however. The road over the gap was as smooth and firm as 
any in Roxbury or Dorchester, and Avas made np of so many 
acute angles as to give a grade of exceeding ease. Indeed it 
is a beautiful specimen of engineerings and evidently costly ; 
budt on the principle of getting as much road into the given 
distance as possible — and so contrived as to make you be- 
lieve you are going down hill instead of up. Another brigade 
was bivouacked for a mile or two by the road, and their 
brilliant fires crackling all along on either side, now against 
a wall of earth left by excavation, and now bringing into re- 
lief the wild woods over a precipice, while a brook near by 
Avas roUing, scolding, or singing by turns, made a bewil- 
dering and fascinating scene. At the top Ave rested, and 
turning to look, beheld a view of the utmost beauty ; a lovely 
vaUey, of great breadth, confined by the distant AUeghanies, 
whose tops the rising sun Avas just tinging. 

DoA\Ta on the other side ; a halt at the base, in beautiful 
scenery ; a despatch ; the pleasant information that either the 
signal officer had blundered, or else somebody had — made a 
mistake ; tAvo nights bivouac in delightful Avoods, and on one 
of them a magnificent spectacle in tlie " Avoods on fire" near 
the top of Masanutten. 

Then Ave retm*ned. Up the hill and doAvn again, and back 
to camp. On the way up, a few of us took short cuts from 
angle to angle once or tAvice to gather wild floAvers. There 
Avas great abundance of several Idnds. Wild cherry was in 
blossom, and laurel, and what they call dogAvood here, which 
I think is found in Milton, in Massachifsetts, and " red bud," 
without leaves, but gorgeous in its Avealth of flowering ; and of 
lowlier plants, the red columbine, mayflower, much like the 
New Hampshii-e one, Avhich is more beautiful than that in 



148 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAFIUAN. 

the Plymouth woods (I have gathered both), the auemone, 
the iris, far more delicately lovely than any I ever saw wild 
before ; and above all, such profusion of wood violets as one 
rarely finds, of which many were colored so like pansies that 
they were easily mistaken for them at a little distance. Sit- 
ting upon a rock to rest, the sight of belted men, with swords 
at their side and pistols ready, gathering flowers, awakened 
strange sensations. But these " wood violets are the same 
we have at home" they said. 

On Saturday, at sundown, tents were again struck ; but 
orders soon came to stop the wagons ; and so with tents less 
than half a mile off, we had two more nights and the whole in- 
tervening day of shelterless waiting. What for, do you^sk? 
Shrug your shoulders and keep quiet. 

But on Monday morning, at half past two, we were in the 
road ; fourteen miles that day, and woods at night, with plenty 
of luxurious leaves for beds, which, Avith good weather and a 
few blankets, make just the pleasantest summer residence im- 
aginable. Tuesday morning, at three o'clock, we rise again, 
and make fourteen miles moi'e, — to this dirtiest, nastiest, 
mieanest, poorest, most shiftless to^vn I have yet seen in all 
the shiftless, poor, mean, nasty, dirty towns of this beautiful 
valley. 

There is a considerable force — perhaps fifteen or twenty 
thousand — of rebels down the valley. That they will be 
fools enough to come up, is not possible while Fremont is at 
Franklin. So our chance to do something active seems small. 
Rumor has it that our division is to remain here this summer, 
to hold this place, which is a very important one in reference 
to operations in the valley, and to look after the Manassas 
railway. We are all terribly chagrined at such a prospect. 
It would be too humiliating to a large, well-equipped, finely- 



GUERILLAS. 149 

organized, brave, admirably^lecl force like ours. To sit down 
virtually to garrison purposes, while troops which came into 
the field far later are placed in posts of honor, would be hard 
to bear. To read the brilliant despatches from this place by 
the reporter to the " Associated Press," which have become 
here a laughing-stock for their stereotyped beginning, " Great 
rejoicing is exhibited in this corps on hearing of the briUiant 

victory at " one place after another — w^ould be rather 

tough for summer employment. If this be the settled plan, I 
shall relieve you of one " army correspondent," as what is 
going on this summer in this quarter would not be worth read- 
ing ; and I would not insult yom- kindness by writing. But 
we hope better things. 

In the mean time there is plenty of guerilla business. One 
of our men was captured not sixty rods from the roadside by 
the woods w^here Ave had halted ; but after four or five days' 
captivity shrewdly escaped from a rebel camp of thousands of 
men, and after two days' travel in the woods reached Union 
pickets. Another, in advance on a march, w^as shot at and 
very severely wounded. It is learned that citizens, and soldiers 
in citizens' clothes, are roaming the valley to pick off any one 
they can find outside the lines as well as pickets. This is in 
accordance with Governor Letcher's proclamation. There is 
but one way to treat these gentry — hang them when caught ; 
burn every house from which they shoot ; and in default of 
catching the scoundrels, seize secession residents as hostages, 
and hang a nian for every man shot in this murderous way. 
This would stop it. But this will not be done ; we must con- 
ciliate the greatest scoundrels that ever went unhung. 
13* 



150 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE RETREAT AND THE RETURN. 

WiLLiAMSPORT, Md., May 30, 1862. 

On the night of the 11th of July, last year, our regiment 
encamped in this town, by the river side, having left Camp 
Andrew in "West Roxbury on the 8th ; and now, after over 
ten months of campaigning, we have come to the same place 
again, very unwillingly. 

I wrote you last that Jackson could hardly be fool enough 
to come up the valley again. He has been, however, and 
if government is wide awake, as I think it is, Jackson's folly 
will soon be made apparent. Good generalship cannot fail 
to annihilate him. 

We have had to retreat, and to retreat in circumstances 
which insured disaster. But when the country learns fully 
the history of a retreat made by less than five thousand men, 
while an enemy of twenty-five thousand moved at the same 
time on converging roads, — a retreat of fifty-three mUes, 
encumbered by five hundred wagons, — a retreat marked by 
fighting for miles upon miles, and by repeated stands to 
enable the trains to gain in distance,- — a retreat which ended 
in a successful passage of a wide and rapid river, in which 
the horses had often to swim, — this retreat will take its 
place as a masterly movement ; and General Banks, with 



THE RETREAT. 151 

his gallant little corps, will take high rank in the esteem and 
affection of the people. 

When the plans were fully consummated between the 
forces of General Banks and General Fremont to attack and 
destroy or capture Jackson near Harrisonburg, the very night 
previous to the intended movement there came positive orders 
to om* corps to retire to Strasburg, and to detach General 
Shields from this command. Disaster was then foreboded. ' 
Remonstrances were useless, and we retired. We had then 
left but two infantry brigades of four regiments each, a 
regiment of cavalry, and sixteen pieces of artillery. The 
Manassas railroad was opened to Strasburg, and Colonel 
Kenley's regiment, the First Maryland, was spared to guard 
it at Front Royal, ten miles east of Strasburg. The remain- 
der of the force was mainly at Strasbui'g, detachments being 
constantly on outpost duty. 

On Friday, May 23, Colonel Kenley's force was over- 
whelmed. News came by an orderly, too late to help him, 
even if it had been possible. About midnight the wagon 
trains were put in motion, but the men, though under arms, 
were not moved until Saturday morning at about eleven 
o'clock. It did not appear certain until then that the attack 
on Front Royal was more than a mere raid. But it soon ap- 
peared that Jackson was in very heavy force, and instant 
retreat was needful. 

General Hatch, with cavalry, and some few guns, Avere 
rear guard. Colonel Donelly's brigade led ; Colonel Gor- 
don's followed. The train was far on the road, but the 
forces, excepting the rear guard, reached some of it near 
Middletown, distant about six miles above Strasburg, and 
passed it. 

We Avere (Colonel Gordon's brigade) about a mile and a 



152 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

half above Newtown (sometimes called vStephensburg) , and 
about twelve miles from Strasbm-g, when reports came that 
the wagon train had been cut by the enemy. General Hatch 
was thus intercepted, and it appeared afterward, had crossed 
over to a road westerly, and came by detour to the main 
force. Colonel Gordon was then ordered to go back with the 
Second Massachusetts, the Twenty-eighth New York, and a 
section of Best's battery, to relieve the train. On approach- 
ing Newtown, they found the Twenty-seventh Indiana (of 
Colonel Gordon's brigade) drawn up across the road in line, 
with four pieces of Corthren's New York battery. The 
Twenty-eighth New York was halted, and Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Andrews, with the Second Massachusetts, was ordered 
by Colonel Gordon to take and hold Newtown. They passed 
the wagons along the road in every conceivable state of con- 
fusion, abandoned by the drivers. The enemy had posted 
artillery in the street, but the Second advanced without firing 
a shot, under a fire of shell ; the enemy did not wait to be 
closed upon, but retired to an eminence near by. There the 
artillei'y was posted, and constant fii-ing was kept up for an 
hour, during which the town was held. Colonel Gordon 
endeavored to procure mules to save the wagons, but none 
were sent, and he ordered the Twenty-seventh Indiana to 
burn them, which was accomplished. When this was done, 
Colonel Gordon ordered the forces on again. It was now 
twilight. 

From that time the Second Avas rear guard during the re- 
treat. No annoyance was then experienced for the two mUes 
which the regiment had just retraced. There, when it had 
been ordered to return to Newtown, it had, in order to re- 
lieve the fatigued men, left knapsacks in a field by the road. 
Thii reoriment here halted to take them. While this was 



A RETREATING FIGHT. 153 

being done, on came the enemy. It was now quite dark. 
Companies were immediately formed to resist cavalry. 
Do-WTi came the enemy's charge ; but our men waited untU 
they came to within seventy or eighty yards, when from the 
three directions an admirable volley was poured into them. 
They did not wait for a second, but wheeled in dismay. 
Again their officers tried to rally them. So near were they 
that their orders could be heard, and when they were dis- 
obeyed, the word " cowards ! " was audible. But in vain. 
They would not risk themselves against such musketry. 
They brought up artillery, but it had no effect except to 
stampede some of our cavalry. 

It was not long before the enemy's infantry appeared. 
They opened a severe fire, but it was well returned, and the 
enemy checked. 

Everything being ready, the troops moved on. The enemy 
followed, but our fire was too hard for them, and they were 
wary. Kernstown was reached, and a halt took place, both 
to rest the men and care for the wounded, which had been 
unfortunately taken to that point only, instead of going on to 
Winchester. Ambulances were sent for, but they did not 
return. Half an hour passed. Again the enemy crept up in 
the darkness and opened fire. It was returned with spirit. 
But it was useless to wait. Artillery could be heard rum- 
bling in the rear. The macadamized road brought our men 
out into relief, and it was necessary to move on. 

About two A. M., the last of the tired soldiers reached 
Winchester, and lay down to rest. They needed it badly. 
But a company from each regiment Avas sent out, and skir- 
mishing was continual. The enemy's advance, in about two 
hours, was evidently in force. 

Colonel ^ordon^and Colonel Donelly had chosen positions 



154 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

for their brigade. It was just out of town, on tlfe right and 
left of the road going southward. On the right (facing 
southward) was Colonel Gordon. A long ridge running 
nearly parallel with the road is broken by a cross gully. 
On the eminence nearest the toAvn, a little sheltered by 
broken ground, was placed the infantry, the Second Massa- 
chusetts on the right, then, in order, the Third Wisconsin, 
the Twenty-seventh Indiana, and the Twenty-ninth Pennsyl- 
vania ; and several pieces of artillery were posted in the 
rear. The other brigade was on the left of the road, where 
they fought bravely, particularly the Fifth Connecticut. 

On the opposite height was the enemy. As they showed 
themselves, there were large masses, dropping soon out of 
sight. As Colonel Gordon's brigade ascended to its place, a 
fire of grape was opened on them at a few hundred yards 
distance. The men were ordered to lie down, rising only to 
fire, and the artillery was kept constantly at work. Skir- 
mishers were sent to pick off the enemy's horses and gun- 
ners ; much exposed, they were soon ordered still nearer the 
enemy, where they could be sheltered by a wall. So accu- 
rate was their fire, Avith that of the troops in line, that one 
gun was completely silenced, the enemy not daring to attempt 
even its removal. 

The troops fought bravely and coolly. But by and by a 
movement of the enemy threatened the skirmishers, and they 
were called in. Then heavy columns were seen moving to 
turn the right of the brigade. Colonel Gordon ordered the 
Twenty-seventh Indiana and Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania to 
take position on the right, in an obliqvie angle with the other 
two regiments. They rushed thither, and with shouts began 
a rapid firing. But seeing the force approaching they fell 
back. What could valor do against such odds ? Then the 



THROUGH WINCHESTER. 155 

guns were orde^cl away. It was useless to remain. Orders 
came to retire. 

So they entered Winchester, the enemy in pursuit. The 
exultant foe pursued. They were the rear. Cavalry dashed 
against them. Citizens fired from houses. Women shot 
from windows, and threw hand grenades at them. Yet not 
a break occurred. Volleys were poured into the houses fired 
from. Riders were unhorsed. Past burning buildings, in- 
tensely hot, reckless of attack, the men stood steady. 

So on to Martinsburg. Shells bm*sting over them ; cav- 
ahy sweeping round ; but unbroken still. And unbroken, 
this regiment, the rear of the main column, before a foe of 
twenty-five thousand men, it retreated. " So on to "^Yilliams- 
port, fifty-three miles from the place it had left thirty-three 
hours before. 

In the action at Winchester this corps stood for three 
hours and a half from the time the pickets were driven in — 
four thousand men against twenty-five thousand ; seven regi- 
ments against twenty-eight actually counted at once. Escaped 
prisoners tell us that the enemy suffered severely. They 
were astonished at the daring of this little force and at its 
escape. They expected its entire capture. 

In Winchester some stores fell into the enemy's hands, but 
not a very great amount. Few wagons and few arms were 
lost. The enemy took prisoners, however, of all whom 
fatigue forced to remain. 

The passage through Winchester illustrates again the in- 
fernal influence of Southern education. Women had accu- 
mulated pistols and hand grenades, and used them on helpless 
men. What causes this? The education of slavery. That 
brutalizes the people it curses. In this towTi of Winchester, 
when we occupied it, not a house was robbed, not a woman 



156 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

insulted. Such is the return. Woe be to that^own when our 
troops see it again ! As Sodom Avas, it is ; as Sodom is, I 
trust it will be. But what else is to be expected? "Con- 
ciliate ! " Conciliate rattlesnakes, if you will. The spirit 
of a slaveholder, as such, is the spirit of hell. 



Near Front Royal, Va., June 19, 1862. 

We are gratified to find that our regiment is praised at 
home. I have always felt that all which was wanted for 
the regiment was opportunity to show the character of its 
material and the results of its drill and discipline. Few 
know the work necessary to make a really good regiment ; 
the constant drill, the regular studies and recitations of the 
officers, the habit of unhesitating obedience of orders, to be 
obtained only by slow growth. These ours has had. Even 
last winter, daily recitations, in two classes, were conducted 
by the colonel and lieutenant-colonel, instead of allowing idle- 
ness. The result is, a regiment whose main idea is duty. 

As to the character of the recent retreat, I see nothing to 
change in what I wrote you. We have since learned that the 
rebels Avere astonished and infuriated at the escape. They 
suffered greatly. Over seventy graves have been counted of 
men of one Southern regiment, the one, I think, Avhich suffered 
terribly from the sudden fire of the brave Connecticut Fifth. 
The stand of our own regiment near Newtown, we have 
learned, puzzled the enemy. When they afterward learned 
from prisoners that only one regiment did it, they were sur- 
prised, and ashamed that it had checked their march. 

Why this retreat was ever allowed, it is hard to understand. 
It can do no harm to state that the falling back from Harrison- 



NEWSPAPER REPORTS. 157 

biirg to Strasburg was sadly against the -wishes of our com- 
mandei-, and only in consequence of peremptory orders. The 
location at Strasburg was a poor one ; but it was ordered. A 
fortification had been begun there by some engineers, which 
was entirely commanded by several hills. The division of 
the valley by the Masanutten range allowed the enemy to 
choose which side to approach in safety. Our force was 
small, especially after General Shields had been taken. It is 
known that repeated attempts were made to convince higher 
authorities of the danger of this position, but in vain ; indeed, 
they at last excited jocular replies. 

The World's account, by the way, which I see extensively 
copied, has two items rather queer ; one day it says that our. 
regiment went through Winchester with colors flying and 
drums beating ; another, that the Second, after firing one 
volley, broke, ran through Winchester, and' could not be ral- 
lied for two miles. Both statements are untrue. There was 
no drum beat. And on the other hand they never broke ; nor 
was there a moment when the regiment was not perfectly in 
the hand of the commander. They did not even take the 
double-quick step, except twice when ordered, once in turning 
a street corner, and once Avhen passing five or six burning 
buildings in a narrow street where the heat was insupportable. 
The disjointed items of a youngster, who says he slept through 
the conflict below Winchester, comfortably in bed at a hotel, 
are, however, scarcely worth alluding to, but for the fact that 
^ome Boston papers copy tliem. 

This experience has had one evident effect on our regiment, 
— to create the happiest feeling between officers and privates. 
The coolness of our officers, their indifference, to danger, and 
their constant care of their men, have won respect and affec- 
tion ; and officers feel the same toward the men, who did all 
14 



158 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

that men could do. It had been enviously said that officers 
like oui's — young men, more than two thirds of whom were 
graduates gf some college (two of West Point) , and reared 
in comparative luxury — would neither endure hardships nor 
manifest bravery. The reverse precisely is true. The great 
difficulty with aU was to keep them out of useless danger. 
In the action at Winchester, those who had any breakfast, ate 
it unconcernedly. Some, not actively engaged, Avent to sleep. 
One servant even passed along with food in the midst of a 
fire of grape. One officer there had a forcible appeal from 
brother Trask, in the shape of a bullet from the storm, which 
knocked his pipe out of his mouth, and so spoiled his smoke. 

The brigade remained at Williamsport until June 10. The 
other brigade of our corps had left some days earlier. On 
that day it crossed the river, and bivouacked near Falling 
Water. The next day it went to, and camped at Bunker 
Hill. The following day it passed through Winchester, where 
General Banks was, and General Sigel, whose forces had, a 
week earlier, come up from Harper's Ferry, and camped six 
miles south. That place we left on Wednesday last, and we 
are here a few miles north of Front Royal. 

Much of this march was over ground traversed last July, 
and so had its pecixliar interest. Some of its features, how- 
ever, struck us as peculiar. The conciliatory policy is ex- 
treme. A guard from the brigade was stationed at every 
house, and no person, officer or man, was allowed even to rob 
the inhabitants of well-water ; fortunately we met brooks occa- • 
sionally. The general of the corps has just issued an assur- 
ing proclamation to the farmers, to the effect that if they 
gather their crops nobody shall touch them, unless govern- 
ment wants them, in which case their value shall be paid. 
Considering that it is hard to "find a LTnion man this side of 



THE VALLEY. 159 

Martinsburg, this method of making war by furnishing an 
excellent market to the secessionists, is eminently forgiving. 
Winchester, with its villanous spawn of hell for inhabitants, 
is most carefully protected. Houses, from which, it is capable 
of clearest proof, citizens fired on our soldiers, are unharmed. 
The dwellers in that town are unharmed. I would not favor 
any indiscriminate pillage, but the policy which makes it for 
the interest of men to be rebels is queer. A rebel, he is pro- 
tected by both Union and secesh soldiers. A Union man, he 
is protected by Union, but tei*ribly maltreated by secesh ; 
therefore — be secesh. Still, if that is the policy of govern- 
ment, doubtless there are sound reasons for it. In the mean 
time I have reason to know that rebel citizens laugh at us, and 
believe that we do not dare to be justly severe. Some cases 
of protection Avould make people stare. 

As to the general situation, you know better where Jackson 
is than any here except the leaders. 

The valley in Avliich Ave are runs from Pennsylvania south- 
west. It is bounded by the Blue Ridge on the east, and the 
Alleghanies on the west. Two principal places of entrance 
from Maryland arc Harper's Ferry and Williamsport. The 
valley is tolerably open until we reach Strasburg, Avhere, in 
the centre begins a separate chain — the Masanutten range 
— which splits the valley for just fifty miles, where, near 
Harrisonburg, it abruptly ends. Now at the head of the 
western division stands Strasburg ; at the head of the eastern. 
Front Royal. When Jackson came northward, it was by the 
eastern side of the Masanutten, Greneral Banks's force not 
being sufficient to guard either side. Middletown, a few 
miles north of both Strasburg and Front Royal, seems the 
strong point from which to support both places. This is now 
occupied. General Fremont holds Strasburg, and some dis- 



160 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

tance below, and we are part of the force occupying Front 
Royal. 

These measures seem as if preventive rather than aggres- 
sive, but they can easily become the latter. The difficulty 
here seems this : parts of, or the whole of three army corps, 
have lately been occupying the valley, each responsible only 
to Washington. It is a puzzle why all the troops in this lim- 
ited area should not be in one command. General Fremont's 
department, and that of General Banks, are separated by only 
a line in the road for fifty miles. If this whole artificial cut- 
ting up of territory were done away, and if all the forces this 
side the Blue Ridge were given to one general, Avould there 
not be greater efiiciency ? In fact, ever since General McClel- 
lan was limited to his narrow area, and three other independ- 
ent departments made in Virginia, matters have worked 
badly. The army would rejoice to hear that the war in Vir- 
ginia was under one general, and he McClellan. 

For myself, I had enough to do in the hospital at Winches- 
ter. Several buildings are occupied for this purpose. Our 
wounded are at^the " Union House" hospital, under charge 
of our own Doctor Leland, formerly of Milford. He has had 
only one surgeon with him, and a hundred and seventy patients ; 
but everything is neat, the care is admirable, and the men 
quite cheerful. The surgeon has a great heart, and equal 
skill, and has the warmest regard from all our men. There 
is a post chaplain at Winchester, but he has several buildings 
to visit, including those with the rebel sick. It is very 
noticeable how the Winchester women send their delicacies 
to the rebel quarters, few to the Union. Still our men do 
not lack. It Avas a great privilege to go into the hospital, 
though it was a six mile ride, and meet our own men. Take 
good care of them, friends, when they go home, as they will, 
to recruit. They deserve it. 



REBEL BARBARITY. 161 

I am not surprised that many persons are discountenancing 
stories of rebel insolence and barbarity, because it is hard to 
believe human nature sunk so low. One thing is true ; the 
wounded collected into hospitals were well treated. "Whether 
the fact that they must and did leave a large number of their 
own to our care had any effect, I do not know. I am satis- 
fied that no shots were Tcnowingly fired into actual hospitals. 
But aside from these, there is no reason to qualify any state- 
ments which I have seen of rebel barbarity,* This race is 
not fuUy civilized yet. For ignorance and stupidity, I could 
tell you facts I never Avould have believed but for seeing them. 
And I tell you again, until slavery is broken, and until a new 
race is introduced, to a very great extent, there will be no 
true peace. Senator Sumner never uttered truer words than 
those in his speech — " The Barbarism of Slavery." 

* Proof, in great quantity, of the firing from windows by women and 
others in "Winchester, was afterwards collected to a certain extent. But 
the stories of our immense losses are perfectly absurd. So is the account 
of the panic equally untrue and ridiculous. 

14* 



1G2 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MOVEHIENTS UNDER GENERAL POPE. 

On the Road, Rappahannock Co., Va., July 9, 1862. 

Last Saturday evening, as we looked at tlie red sunset 
sky, we said, " It will be hot to-moiTOw." Why we felt 
special interest in the expected weather was, because we 
were to inarch to-morrow. The tidings had come of re- 
verses at Richmond. 

It was a hot Sunday. Reveille was beat at the usual hour. 
All was made ready to move. Another brigade had gone in 
the night, whose rumbling wagons we could hear when Ave 
were foolish enough to lie awake. The morning hours wore 
on. At eleven o'clock, " Route step, forward ! " The sun 
was blazing hot when we started, and grew hotter and hotter. 
A few miles on Avas the Shenandoah, the junction of its north 
fork and main stream. There we waited under a hill, on an 
exposed plain, Avhere the very leaves hung stupefied. Hours 
passed before the indolent wagon trains in front moved out 
of the way, and then we moved again. We crossed the tem- 
porary bridge built at the junction of the rivers ; passed over 
the site of Colonel Kenley's contest, Avhere relics still lie in 
profusion, but which Ave left untouched, having long since got 
tired of cai'rying loads of old iron ; Avent through the rather 
pretty little toAvn of Front Royal, Avhich is Avell shaded, a 



TO EASTERN VIRGLMA. 163 

mile or so from the railroad to which a branch runs, and 
camped a mile or so south of the town. No sooner had the 
ground been reached than men fell utterly exhausted, and 
passed under the surgeon's care. The march had not been 
long, but horrible for heat. On it we wondered why, as our 
destination was said to be Warrenton, government did not 
transport the troops by railroad, in one day, rather than 
break them down by a four days' march under a Virginia 
July sun. We also wondered why we might not have had 
our Sunday in quiet, and, starting at, say five o'clock in the 
afternoon, made the same distance by eight o'clock. Soldiers 
may " wonder," but they cannot help themselves. However, 
many of us had no scruples at taking a cooling batla that 
eveuing in a brawHng brook near by, and having followed 
the Apostle's directions as to "pure water" and a "clean 
conscience," slept very well. 

And on Monday, at three o'clock, reveille awakened us. 
At six o'clock we were in the road, toward the Blue Ridge. 
It was a lovely morning, and truthful, for it pi'omised 
another hot day, and was right about it. It was an eventful 
anniversary too. For, one year ago that day we left Camp 
Andrew in West Eoxbury, and left Boston, and left wives, 
children, and friends. Some wives, some children, are to be 
seen no more ; and some of that number of brave men have 
sealed their patriotic contract with their blood. 

Four miles, or may be five, from Front Royal is Chester 
Gap, a break in the summit of the Blue Ridge. The ascent 
is gentle ; the scenery beautiful. The heat was severe, but 
when at last we reached the summit of the road, and began 
to descend, the breeze swept over us gently, and cooled the 
heated men. We were descending the Ridge, and I doubt if 
there was one there Avho did not rejoice that at last Ave were 



164 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

out of that bated Virginia valley, into which Our evil fortune 
had sent us one year ago, and where our energies had been 
uselessly spent for that time. General Banks was now in 
Eastern Virginia. 

Twelve miles that day before eleven o'clock. Then Ave 
rested in a beautiful wood, and toward night pitched our 
tents. By and by a refreshing shower came up, so that 
when next morning we marched on, the ground was delight- 
fully firm. We were rear guard that next day, and so were 
troubled with the long wagon trains. Troubles easily borne, 
for this section is prolific in cherries ; and as we halted for 
hours, the men luxuriated in cherries ; they ate cherries 
among the branches ; they picked cherries to take along ; 
they cut limbs full of cherries and ate under the shade as they 
marched. Providence evidently made these cherries ripen 
for our march. 

But, five miles on the road, we halted. We camped. 
Orders came, based on the facts that anxiety for General 
McClellan was over, and that sufficient forces were at War- 
renton. What to do with our two brigades nobody seems 
to know, and we are waiting till somebody finds out. j\s 
usual, we are a kind of incumbrance, placed nobody knows 
why, and what to do with us, I think always puzzles the 
authorities. But we wait. Nothing is given us to do. Our 
brethren at Richmond we Avould gladly help. Our oa^ti com- 
parative uselessness we lament. But if our government de- 
sires us to " spend the summer in the country," we can do 
so, though a little preferring, if our wishes were consulted, 
some sea-side spot. For instance, Nahant is cooler ; or the 
line of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad, ought not there 
to be a force sufficient to defend it? or say at Tcwksbury,. 
which, if my memory serves me, is quite warm. 



NEED OF SOLDIERS. 1G5 

Barring oiu" wishes, however, clearly the country needs 
men. The call for three hundred thousand surprises nobody 
here. It Avill take half that number to fill up existing regi- 
ments. But I will tell you what to do. Send back our men 
who are wasted in other employments; employ "civil" 
nurses at Frederick ; restore to a fighting position the many, 
ofllicers and men, who are engaged in the trucking business 
(here called quartermaster's department), and the provision 
trade (here called commissaiy's department), and hire some 
good truckmen and pork dealers from Boston, infinitely better 
fitted than West Point graduates for such a service ; cut 
do^\Ti the hosts of men wasted on staff employ, as witness the 
late enormous list thrown out by General Fremont's being 
"relieved" of command, and then the terrible deficiencies 
of our six hundred thousand men would melt aAvay one half. 

But after that were done (which never will be), the 
country needs more soldiers.. It has a right to demand 
them. After God, it has the first claim. When at home a 
few days last January, I could see no diminution in the 
street throngs ; no want of men in business. Here^ it is rare 
to find an able-bodied man ; ask for one, and regularly you 
are answered, " He is in the army." In the army, to support 
the most infernal institution the world ever saw, and to over- 
throw the best government the world ever saw, while in 
Massachusetts there are multitudes who criticise and carp, as 
though they knew all about war, but never lift a hand. You, 
whose families must have your services at home, there are 
enough without you. But you, whose only trouble is your 
dislike at leaving them, — your fellow-men have left wives 
and children, with sore hearts, too ; will you? You, who are 
sick, stay at home ; but you, whose faces are white and forms 
slender, only because you need air and activity, come, and 



166 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

grow stalwart. You, whose highest work is to sell ribbons 
and laces, bonnets and slippers, — leave that to loomen ; be 
men; a mn.sket is more honorable than a yardstick for a 
man's hand ; a hard hand is better than flabby fingers ; an 
honest tan is a better color than tallow. A soldier is a man. 

Influential men at home ought to set the examjile. They 
can fill up the army in a week. Let them throw their 
wealth, their ability, their persons, to this cause, and hosts 
of followers would fall in. If they have wealth, that excuses 
nobody from serving his country. If they can live at ease, 
that is no reason why they should live in ease. 

And you, brother ministers, whose work is not, and ought 
not to be, to fight, — yovi, Avhose hearts are in this cause, and 
Avho would gladly be in it yourselves, — will yoit not use 
your powerful influence to fill, up our armies? Tell the 
people what this war is for. Tell them it is a war holier 
than ever were crusades. Show them what the country 
needs. Explain Avliat patriotism is. Convince your young 
men that the patriot must not refuse this call. Make them 
understand, what few do understand, the exigencies of the 
Age ; that this is the war of Civilization against Barbarism, 
Light against Darkness, Right against Wrong ; that now is 
the culmination of the Heathenism of two centuries ; that 
that Heathenism is indeed earnest. The ministry of Christ 
have a trust in their hands which this generation never 
equalled before, never will again. Thank God, I knoAV they 
are true. 



Near Warrenton, Va., July 16, 1862. 

Your letter came a day or two ago. You say you have 
had none from me since one I Avrote concerning the " re- 



■ RECAPITULATION. 167 

treat" of May 24 and 25. You inquire whether I have 
ceased writing. " Ceased writing ! " when I have written as 
often, at least, as once a fortnight ! Little did I know the 
sad truth : how all my brilliant thoughts, my excellent dis- 
quisitions, my beautiful descriptions, — had all gone, through 
the post-office tunnel, into some paper-mill ! The world can 
never know Avhat it has lost. It is a hopeless loss : should 
they come to light, alas, for their freshness ! A good brother 
chaplain of my acquaintance had a bottle of champagne sent 
him by a general. The excellent brother thanked the donor, 
and stated to him that he never drank, but would keep this 
bottle to use a little from time to time in case of sickness. 
He learned his mistake. In case my letters turn up — they 
are too long uncorked ; they are flat forever. 

I do not know what I wrote. I never read my letters in 
print, much less keep copies. But by way of recapitulation 
as to our peregrinations, we left Williamsport, Md., June 10, 
and crossed the river, to the inspiring music of " Carry me 
back to Old Virginia, to old Virginia's shore ; " bivouacked 
that night near Falling Waters ; passed through Martins- 
burg to Bunker Hill, and there camped ; next day marched 
to and thi'ough Winchester in close order ; camped that 
night at BartonsviUe, a flom'ishing town of three houses, 
about seven miles south of Winchester ; remained there until 
June 18, when we moved to a spot about four miles north of 
Front Royal, where we had the capital fortune to get back, 
as brigadier, our own Massachusetts soldier. General Gor- 
don. Sunday, July 6, we were ordered on ; one night a 
mile south of Front Royal ; one night snug by a pretty locust- 
shaded little village called Flint Hill ; two nights near 
Gaines's Cross Roads ; here we pitched our tents late Friday 
night, and here we wait for orders. 



168 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

All along the roads are great wheat fields, into which no 
sickle will enter. Crops sufficient to feed all New England 
are to be lost for want of laborers. Owners have gone to 
war, and blacks have fun away as the army moved. The 
strength of the rebel army is in slave labor. Able-bodied 
men can be spared to fight wherever the black laborers 
remain. The North has made a great mistake in supposing 
that slavery is an element of weakness at the South in time 
of war. Practically, the reverse is true. It need not be so. 
It ought not to be so. Had we given the slaves to understand 
that they are /ree, the crops now gathering would never have 
been food for rebel armies. 

While waiting, we are amid a large army. Brigadier- 
generals are plenty. Regiments are on every hand. The 
Twelfth and Thirteenth Massachusetts are again our neigh- 
bors, and we revive old friendships with great comfort. Our 
baggage is cut down ; one valise to an ofiicer. Our tents are 
partly taken away ; the officers crowd into a diminished 
number, and the privates have, or are to have, "shelter" 
tents. Ten days' rations are to be kept on hand, and each 
regiment to be ready to move any time, rations and all, at an 
hour's notice. General Pope's address to his army implies 
work. For myself, I am better fitted for a march than I was 
a week ago, when I had lost my horse ! He turned up, at 
last, in the Fifth New York horse-thieves (known officially 
as cavalry) . General Gordon lost a horse of his ; it was 
found in, and with great difficulty (ending in the arrest of a 
captain) procured from, the Fifth New York horse-thieves. 
Our adjutant lost two horses ; both Avere discovered — in the 
Fifth New York horse-thieves. 

We are now, you see, under General Pope. That is, the 
lately separate commands, under Generals Banks, Fremont, 



EMANCIPATION. 169 

and McDowell, are united under General Pope. We cease 
to be an isolated corps now, for the first time. How ad- 
mirably General Banks behaves under this new order you 
know. He is a real patriot. 

Everybody hopes Ave are to move toward Richmond. 
Whether it were wise we cannot judge. We have confidence 
in the Union generals. What little esteem we ever had for 
civilians who manage war was long since lost. Let them 
manage their politics, but let soldiers plan campaigns, — is 
the universal feeling. To meddlers are due the wails in 
thousands of households ; to them, the prolonging of the 
war ; to them, the waste of untold millions of money ; to 
them, the imminent danger of foreign intervention : all 
accomplished, when men in civil life determined to dictate to 
educated soldiers Avhat they, as soldiers, must do ; when they 
thwarted the best plans ; tried to balance the jealousies of 
parties by giving each general an inadequate independent 
command. I tell you the execrations of the army upon the 
authors of our disasters are deep. And while not dismayed, 
yet we are saddened upon hearing now that no change is to 
be made. Unless a practical change is made, I insist that the 
South cannot be conquered. 

There are difierences of opinion in the army as to the 
slavery question. Some want emancipation proclaimed. 
Some, practical and effectual emancipation without proclama- 
tions. Some, to leave slavery as it was before the war. The 
drifting is towards emancipation, mainly to the second posi- 
tion. In that I rather coincide, though I want the thing 
done at any rate, as necessary for the country. But all love 
their country first and best. If we can accomplish emancipa- 
tion, it would be a glorious deed for our country. If not 
now, yet the old Flag must triumph. But, to emancipate, is 
15 



170 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

the way to succeed ; and therefore the government needs 
policy, needs firmness, needs energy. 

The more I see, the more I believe in the feasibility of 
emancipation. The difficulties in the way are not uncon- 
querable ; I mean, as to adjusting the elements of the new 
state of society caused thereby. The only obstacle is in the 
masters, who have so long made men work Avithout wages, 
that, like all tyrants, they cannot bear to go to work for an 
honest living. The slaves could be freed, and remain on the 
soil. Compulsory colonization seems to me a perfect hum- 
bug, — unless you colonize the masters, the real encum- 
brances. To remove the industrious portion of the com- 
munity is foolish. France tried that when it banished 
thousands of Protestant artisans. Let us not commit the 
same folly. Suppose Massachusetts were to expel from its 
borders its day-laborers, its working farmers, its shoemakers, 
its blacksmiths, — where Avould the wealth of Massachusetts 
be? The blacks are the workmen, — peasant laborers gen- 
erally, but often mechanics. They do not wish to leave their 
native land. Why should they? What right have we to 
expel them ? Is their race not a native of the soil ? No 
more is ours. You Avho weep over " Evangeline," wherein 
have we a right to imitate the conduct of the arrant humbug 
nation of Europe ? 

Of course, in freeing the slaves, there Avould be trouble. 
They are unfit for liberty in some respects. But who made 
them so ? What right have the masters — the criminals, to 
plead their OAvn crime as an excuse for perpetuating that 
crime ? Whatever troubles would ensue are the penalty of 
transgression, the price of reform. When our surgeon sets 
a broken leg, there is pain in the operation ; there is subse- 
quent inflammation in the very process of healing ; there is, 



EMANCIPATION. 171 

for a time, helplessness ; but then there comes health and 
power ; and in spite of, and at the cost of, pain and fever, it 
was better to have the leg set. Society here has both legs 
broken ; better set-them. 

Better set them, because it is right. I thank God that we 
can stand at last, untrammelled, on the simple basis of right. 
I doubt all politicians who dodge the question of right. Your 
fourth of July oration is powerful, but I cannot see that it 
touches one point, viz., that the legality it argues for is 
iniquitous. Every man has a right to freedom save in crime. 
Every man Avho deprives another of that freedom is a robber. 
Every law which sanctions that robbery is wicked. In con- 
versing with Virginians, there is one alignment which they 
cannot answer : every man has a "right to his liherty. On 
secession, or nullification, or republican party, or compromise, 
they will twist and dodge ; but from that simple principle 
there is no escape. " I believe," I have told naany of them, 
" in just what your own constitution of Virginia says, adopted 
in the last century, reenacted by convention in December, 
1861, when in its preamble it declares that ' all men are 
created free and equal, and possessed of rights of which they 
cannot divest themselves or their posterity. ' " That is the 
platform. It is astonishing how simple one's duty becomes 
when he gets at this fundamental principle, and means to 
adhere to it. I feel very comfortable now. 

You will see that Congress, by recent legislation, has ma- 
terially reduced the pay of chaplains, and possibly you will 
be curious to know its result. It is hard telling yet. There 
are two things involved ; one is, the pay as to be established, 
is less than that of a captain of infantry, showing the estima- 
tion in which chaplaincies are held by the governing power. 
The other thing to be considered is, that while some chaplains 



172 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

will receive more than in any of their settlements, very many 
are already making comparative pecuniary sacrifice. The 
expenses of a campaign are very large. I judge from a year's 
experience that the pay newly established is inadequate, and 
must speedily send home all except the poorer class, who 
never had a parish of any size, or Avealthy men, who can 
aiford to stay. 

But wherever our country wants us she should have us. 
And unless this rebellion is soon crushed we shall have war 
enough. Our country will then need all its sons. Never 
should I hai?^e any temptation to be more intimately connected 
with a soldier's life than now, unless foreign powers inter- 
vened. Then I should feel that any place was glory. To be 
one of an army to humble and cripple forever that hypocrit- 
ical, arrogant, incarnation of selfishness, that Pecksniff of 
nations, England, the tyrant in Ireland, the barbarian in 
India, the hereditary ally of despots, haughty to the weak, 
fawning on the strong, " whose end is destruction, whose God 
is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame" — that 
would make ancestral fire burn in my veins ; that I should 
recognize as a duty to the civilization of the century and to 
the voice of God. It would be a holy war. 



Near Washington, Bappahannock Co., Va., July 24, 1862. 

It is rather curious to reckon over the various titles and 
commanders of the corps in Avhich, for one year, Ave have 
served. We have been in the army of the Valley, the army 
of the Shenandoah, the army of the Potomac, the army of 
Virginia ; we " change the place, yet keep the pain." Gen- 
eral Patterson has commanded our division, General Banks 



PROSPECTS. 173 

alone, General Banks under General McClellan, General 
Banks alone again, General Pope, and now, if rumor be true, 
General Ilallcck over General Pope. For brigadiers, we 
have bad G enerals Abercronibie, Williams, Hamilton, Greene, 
and Gordon, — varying backwards and forwards until one 
tenure of each would not average a month. As Ave have 
been kept in a limited locality, and formed part of but one 
army, the simplicity and straightforwardness of this manage- 
ment is pleasingly illustrated. 

Now matters seem to have come to a stop. The army 
and the country pause to consider. Richmond will not fall 
this week. The rebellion will not end the week after. What 
is the look of things ? 

After more than a year's fighting, after untold expenditure 
of treasure and blood, we seem no nearer the end than when 
we commenced. The forebodings long entertained by ex- 
perienced men have been realized. A year ago, and repeat- 
edly since, high, very high authority predicted to me just 
this state of things. The predictions were based upon the 
course of public matters, and upon the misunderstood energies 
and resources of the South. 

Yet there are some hopeful matters with us. 

One is, the union of the forces in Upper Virginia under 
one general. It has long been waited for. The evils of the 
opposite course have been most painfully felt on the ground. 
While the people have been amused with pompous headings 
in the dailies about sdine little skirmish, they did not know 
that our strength has been frittered away, our resources 
wasted. Who should tell it? Wlio could venture to speak 
in view of the stringent rules against communicating "infor- 
mation " ? Now the troops are under one head. Of General 
Pope himself the country knows. His deeds declare what 
15* 



174 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

he is. The recent inaugural (so to call it) did not favorably 
impress the soldiery ; but the subsequent orders are received 
with delight. They indicate a vigor and policy which have 
long been waited for. Baggage, well called impedimenta by 
the Romans, has been reduced. AYagons are in order. A 
hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition per man are kept 
with the regiment. And all are quietly and courageously 
waiting to second him in what he may do with the army 
of Virginia. 

There is sense, also, in the appointment of General Halleck 
(if it be true) as general-in-chief. Not merely that it is 
General Halleck, but that it is a general-in-chief; and also 
that it is one whom we may hope will not be interfered mth. 
A soldier is to plan our campaigns ; let civilians attend to 
their civil duties. What could be more proper? The con- 
trary has cost the country enough woe. Thank God for this 
symptom of reason. Why a republic has been considered 
incapable of canying on Avars Avith success, is evidently 
because political leaders cannot Avillingly keep their fingers 
out of military affairs. Rome, in time of peril, committed 
its powers to a dictator, charging him to see that the republic 
met Avith no harm. The universal demand of our people for 
unity and efficiency have virtually done the same thing. The 
head of the armies should not be interfered Avith. Wielding 
the vast resources of the North, and eminently qualified, 
he cannot fail. The civil authorities can settle political 
questions ; the military must rule the armies. If this 
be not done, I see no successful issue to this war ; nor do 
men infinitely better qualified to judge. Now, we may hope 
that General Pope, in Upper Virginia, Avill have more men. 
We may hope that General McClellan Avill have Avhat he 
needs. 



A VIGOROUS POLICY. 175 

The new indications as to the vigor with which all proper 
wavlike measures are to be pushed are hopeful signs. Gov- 
ernment has been very slow to be severe enough. It has long 
been a matter of astonishment that the importance of the 
occasion has not been recognized. The South is in earnest. 
Jt takes what property it wants. It impresses its citizens. It 
scourges Union men. We play with the rebellion. We treat 
Union and rebel alike. We have kept negroes at work to 
support their masters in the rebel army. We have guarded 
rebels' straw stacks while our men slept on the ground. We 
have used the labor of negi'oes with hesitation and apology. 
That is, Ave formerly did. Now we shall take rebel prop- 
erty. We should receive, organize, arm if advantageous, 
our black allies. We could make the South tremble by the 
statement, " your slaves shall be free, and they shall help 
conquer you." I have seen the effect a suggestion of such a 
policy makes on rebels. It angers them, but it terrifies them. 
Of all the Union generals, they tell me that they consider 
McClellan the most of a military man ; but the man they are 
most afraid of is Fremont. They dread him. In the 
rebel army at Winchester, there were plenty of black soldiers, 
actual soldiers, as many will testify. Why should not we use 
such ? 

But there are reasons which account for indecision. One 
is, the stupefying air of politics. It benumbs one. It is hax'd 
for anybody to realize the condition of the country, immersed 
in petty details and surrounded by corruption. But another 
is, the people have not spoken in a clear and decisive tone. 
A ranting demagogue makes as much noise as a true patriot. 
" Conservative " patriots are afraid to venture on anything 
out of the old track. Even old Massachusetts presents a 
divided front in the councils of the nation, and its delegates 



176 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

have been congratulated after speeches by the remnant of 
traitors there. How, then, can the President see what the 
people Avant ? If we could but rise above even such consid- 
erations, and ask " what does God want," then the pillar of 
fire by night, and the cloud by day, would go before us in our 
war of escape from oiu* slavery to Southern despots. But is 
the old Bay State to be misrepresented forever ? Is it to re- 
send to Congress shaky politicians or open mis-representatives ? 
If you Avant more of your sons slaughtered, choose again such 
men at the next election ; but if you want to conquer, give 
us a loyal delegation. 

Congress, at its last session, has, on the whole, done well. 
It has voted men and supplies. It has pledged the country. 
It has made and urged stringent and energetic measures. Of 
course, whatever Congress should do, loe are bound to respect 
it ; for that pleasant literature, the Articles of War, say, 
" Any officer or soldier who shall use contemptuous or disre- 
spectful language against the . . . Congress of the United 
States . , . shall be cashiered, or otherwise punished, as a 
court-martial shall direct." But apart from the respect thus 
secured, I really think that Congress has done well in its late 
session. Yet there is a feeling of relief that it has adjourned. 
Nobody knew what it would do. Now it has done its work 
well and gone home wc are glad. They leave power enough 
in the President's hands. They authorize the calling out of 
m.en, the equipment of armies. So soon, therefore, as our 
armies are filled, the rebellion must suffer. 

So soon as our armies are filled. "When Avill that be ? The 
dark spot in our horizon is at home. The fact is evident that 
men come in slowly. The worse fact is evident, the more 
disgraceful one, that large bounties have to be offered to se- 
cure enlistment ! We read your papers with amazement. 



INJUSTICE OF BOUNTIES. 177 

Glowiug meetings are held in this and that town. Great 
speakers are called out to address the people. The honorables 
and reverends speak ; the rich offer money. Is this needed ? 

Is it possible that Massachusetts has fallen to this ? Must 
its sons be coaxed and hired to fight for their country in a 
A^■ar in "vvhich all are agreed? Have our fellow-citizens so 
sunk that they must be bought for a hundred dollars ? Talk 
not, after this, of the Hessians, Avho sold themselves in the 
war of the Revolution. Is patriotism so precarious as to need 
the weight of a hundred dollars? 

Is it true that the authorities have themselves lost self- 
respect to such an extent as to offer these bribes ? Has not 
the country a right to the service of every able-bodied man ? 
And as it has that right, why should not the manly course be 
taken ? call for the men on just the pay that thirty thousand 
men of Massachusetts have already gone for. There is the 
power to do this ; is there not the courage ? 

The argument seems to be that it would be a confession of 
weakness to draft. Is it any less So, besides the disgrace, to 
bribe f The subterfuge is too apparent. Your great gather- 
ings, and your hundred-dollar bribe, are confessions that 
simple volunteering is ended. That there are not fifteen 
thousand men ready to go, if needed, cannot be true. Many 
a man who hesitates would be willing to submit to the 
draft. The conscription is the true method. I believe in it, 
because it is democratic. The conscription, which will take 
rich and poor alike, high and low, and so guarded that the 
rich man's money will not secm*e his immunity. The idea is 
preposterous that only certain social classes ought to fight. 
Men fight, not your dollars. I know no man too good to 
fight for his country. It loas a noble sight when six hundred 
thousand men i-ushed to arms. It is a disgraceful sight when 
recruiting officers buy men at a hundred dollars apiece. 



178 THE POTOMAC Ax\D THE RAPIDAN. 

The emotions of the army, to a great extent, I know. 
The soldiers are disgusted Avith the able-bodied speech- 
makers. Why do not they, at the close of their speeches, 
say, "/go for one." Their country they love it dearly — at 
a safe distance. 

The soldiers feel a sense of injustice in this matter of 
bounties. "We," they say, "came in time of doubt. We 
have borne the hardships and dangers of the war for a year. 
We have had hard fare, hard work, and bullets. These new 
men have had all the comforts of home for that year, and 
now they are to be rewarded with a hundred dollars apiece ! 
and we, so far as we have property, are to be taxed to pay 
for this ! " 

The soldiers feel that this whole business is fostered by 
many men who wish to secure themselves. They will not 
volunteer ; they might be drafted ; if drafted, it would be 
disgraceful to secure a substitute. They talk loud ; they vote 
bounties ; but they will stay at home, buying and selling and 
getting gain. 

The soldiers see the prodigality and reckless waste of this 
system. To^vns vie with towns in proffers. States rival 
States. Is Massachusetts so affluent, that it wants to throw 
away fifteen hundred thousand doUars before it puts a gun in 
a man's hand, or a pair of shoes on his feet, or a piece of 
bread in his mouth? Are taxes so light, are expenses -so 
small, that this bagatelle of a million and a half is of no con- 
sequence? If so, offer the soldiers already in the field the 
three millions they deserve. Give the old soldiers the bounty 
too, or when they get home some men will go out of office in 
a hurry. 

It is humiliating. It must be that Massachusetts is not 
aware of the imminent dangers of the occasion. It may not 



JUSTNESS OF CONSCRIPTION. 179 

know that General McClellan cannot stir \\dthout new aid ; 
that the army of Virginia is confronted by heavy forces, 
which may be hurled upon it any week ; that — I dare not 
say how many — thousands are the sole and anxious defence 
of the Potomac? And instead of ordering a conscription, 
a hundred-dollar bounty and huge speeches are gathering 
driblets. An active, wise, unscrupulous foe is threaten- 
ing, with great forces, even the North itself; the North 
refuses to take the only manly course to fill up its exhausted 
armies. 

Your paraphernalia of recruiting is an abomination ; 
your bribes are disgraceful. There is a cheap, simple, fair 
way. Call together your able-bodied men. Select by lot 
the requisite mimber. Take care of their families while they 
are gone ; or, better, draw first only from unmarried men. 
If the people will not submit to this, a republic is a failure. 
If the administration is afraid to risk its popularity, the ad- 
ministration is a failure.* 



Near Little Washington, Rappahannock. Co., Va., 

July 30, 1862. 

How we came here was by road from Warrenton, across 
Carter's Creek just above its junction with Hedgeman's River, 
and then across the river itself, over a temporary bridge, 
(very temporary — a freshet started it toward the sea two 

* I leave this letter as written, because it expressed real principles. The 
men were procured, and so far the predictions were incorrect. As to the 
administration, it has shown pluck enough in the matter, and can afford to 
laugh at the closing hj'pothesis. As to bounties, they are a nuisance. The 
fair thing is, to make a soldier's pay equal to home pay, and go no further. 
Our men do not risk life for bounties. 



180 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

days afterward), on whose bank Ave camped that night, July 
20, in a beautiful thunder storm ; then, next day, through 
Amissville, a forlorn, deserted village, to Gaines's Cross 
Roads (so called, because no roads cross there), and turning 
westward, travelled in another thunder storm to a steep hill- 
side, where we made a stay quite long for this pilgrim life. 
It rained when we camped, and rained next day. Sunday 
morning it did not rain, and we had public worship, but it 
rained in the afternoon. 

A beautiful view was visible from that camp. Broad 
fields, broken now and then by woods, were bounded only 
by sharply outlined hills, wooded almost to their tops. The 
little vdllage of Washington lay nestling under the shadows of 
the Blue Ridge, with white houses gleaming out of the dark 
green foliage, and a church or two visible, a third of a mile 
away. Even in rainy days it was pleasant to watch the 
riotous clouds on the mountain-sides. I was sorry I went 
into Little Washington one day. Centred in green mead- 
ows, watered by a tree-fringed brook, overshadowed by moun- 
tains, that is the first impression ; but within, dirt contends 
with whitewash, nasty streets lead nowhere, and three mean 
taverns intimate the ancient character of the place. In fact, 
it images Southern chivalry ; fair to view at a distance, a 
sham when inspected. 

I hate shams. And so I was glad when we left the hill- 
side, as we did to move a mile or two, for military purposes, 
last Thursday. It Avas irritating to sit in our lofty camp, 
say at sunset, and look down to the village, so quiet, so fair 
to view, and yet feel " you are a dirty sham." I appreciated 
the sensations of the little girl, Avhen she leai-ned that her 
pretty doll was filled with sawdust. Not for this, however, 
did we move. War does not care for scenery. 



WAR IN EARNEST. 181 

Why Ave came here, was to occupy a more appropriate 
position for the purposes of the campaign than we did at 
Warrenton. Indeed, I have heard it stated that some mis- 
take sent us down there at all. General Banks's whole 
corps is here or hereabouts, barring one brigade which is at 
or near Culpepper. Somebody else is at Speriyville, six 
miles southwest of this. Somebody at Luray, not far west- 
ward of that. Somebody at Warrenton. And so forth, and 
so on. All are vmder command of General Pope, whom we 
should be glad to see. I am told that he has lately moved 
his headquarters from Washington, D. C., to Warrenton, 
probably because they are " in the saddle." Our forces are 
within supporting distances of each other, from the Potomac 
to the Blue Ridge ; while in the valley, just over the ridge, 
troops hold Winchester, rather shakingly, and the railroad 
to Harper's Ferry. 

Yet I see no prospect of immediate activity. True the 
troops are kept in readiness, but so they ought always to be. 
Should the rebels dash up this way, there would be work. 
Should they conclude to try the valley again, perhaps there 
would be Avork. The crops there are well worth their efforts. 
And I do not see why they may not be gathering them in the 
vicinity of Harrisonburg. But that any movement is to be 
made toward Richmond does not appear. General Pope, 
however, keeps the rebels well irritated below. We want 
troops to accomplish much. 

The new orders of the general are well received. Every 
one feels that Ave have played at war. War is to destroy, 
not protect an enemy. Some Unjon people in the valley told 
us, and always told us, that our course Avas weakening. If 
" AA'e are coming, father Abraham, three hundred thousand 
more," it is a comfort that it is intended now to fight. The 
16 



182 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

orders requiring the inhabitants behind our lines to take the 
oath of allegiance or else travel southward, is exceedinfly 
disliked by rebels. But this is just what has been long needed. 
We want to do things the rebels dislike. I am satisfied that, 
were the people sure the rebel armies would not return, they 
would almost all take the required oath without objection. 
This county was unanimous for secession ; but terror made it 
so. And genuine seceshers will submit, without feeling any 
loss of honor, so soon as their cause becomes hopeless by the 
defeat of their main armies. Curiously enough, the people 
were told that secession was the only way to prevent " war," 
and were fools enough to believe it. They are an ignorant 
set. Passing through quite a village in the valley, we found 
the people troubled as to the instruments of our military band ; 
they had never seen any ; they imagined them some terribly 
destructive kind of fire-arms. " Yes, ma'am," replied one to 
a questioner, " this is the bell-teezer, to fire grape at short 
distances, and is awfully powerful ! " The wondering people 
gazed in dismay. 

We have public worship quite regularly. Rarely, this 
spring and summer, have bad weather or movements pre- 
vented. Our colonel is very exact about it, and where that 
is the case, few interruptions are necessary. Last Sabbath 
you would have enjoyed our meeting-house better than yours. 
Ours was an open, yet shady and beautiful wood, just above 
a rapid brook ; yours was a hot, confined, four- walled building. 
Your cushioned seats are not equal to our grassy sod. Nor 
your miserable penitentiary of a wooden box to be compared 
with our level sward for a pulpit. Some in your house went 
to sleep ; ovirs do not. It is humanizing, in war, to have the 
Sabbath, however inadequately observed, and pubUc worship 
— the text, the old tunes — so like home. Yet there was a 



BOUNTIES A FAILURE. 183 

lack — uo wives, no bright-eyed children, nothing but armed 
men. Such as the worship is, it is growing less in the army. 
Many regiments are without chaplains now. These officers 
are leaving quite rapidly. Several have tendered resignations 
within three weeks, and I think many others intend to do so 
soon. Then batteries have no chaplains. I had a funeral 
service in one last Saturday ; a youth of twenty years, whose 
name I knew not, whose home I had not heard of, whom I 
had never seen ; but the tears stood in the eyes of the officer 
who came to ask me to officiate, as he said, " He was a good 
boy. and the only child of a widow." The whole force of 
the battery Avent to the grave, and a sight at them would cure, 
I hope so, at least, the officials who want to leave our Sab- 
baths unnoticed, our sick without religious comforters, our 
dead buried like beasts. 

One of our own number, too, was buried on Sunday. Two 
miles from camp his company, officers and men, carried him 
to the village graveyard, overgrown with weeds and neglected. 
Other dead were there, newly buried. Ours was reverently 
placed in their line, and a plain board tells where the stranger 
lies. These scenes have never lost their first sadness. 

Last week I wrote somewhat plainly, I believe, as to the 
bounties offered for enlistments. I hope that letter went 
safely. Most of the dailies now arriving try to conceal the 
real results of the plan in vogue, but it is easy to see through 
the deception. Recruiting is a failure. In spite of " eloquent 
remarks " and " soul-stirring resolutions," in spite of bounties 
ranging up to $150 per man, recruiting is a failure. The 
army feels ashamed of such methods ; indignant at their in- 
justice ; astonished at their recklessness. If the fifteen thou- 
sand had come forth spontaneously, well. But everybody 
knew that could not be. The adventurous had gone already. 



184 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Thousands upon thousands remain, equally courageous, and 
who are willing to go if actually called ujjon, but who do not 
care to volunteer. A draft Avould have brought out the best 
material in the State, and have organized a splendid soldiery. 
You have tried bribes, and in that very thing confessed your 
weakness. The slowness of enlistment, even Avith the bounty, 
shows what anybody might have seen, and Avhat many did 
see, that the draft is necessary. Foreign poAvers will say 
that the war is growing unpopular. Had an instant draft 
been ordered, there would have been no room for the allega- 
tion. To read, at this distance, the accounts of war-meetings, 
with their imported enthusiasm, and their impotent results, 
humiliates every son of Massachusetts. Its regiments have 
covered their State with glory ; its politicians are doing their 
best to disgrace it. Stop the foolish, wasteful, useless hum- 
bug ; give us the conscription ! 



BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 185 



CHAPTER VII. 



CEDAB MOUNTAIN. 



Culpepper, Va., August 13, 1862. 

I HAVE never felt so sadly in writing you as I do to-day. 
Last night Ave went into camp for the first time since the 
recent battle. How touchingly our emptied tents reminded 
us of our loss ! Our beloved major wounded and a prisoner. 
Our excellent surgeon wounded. Of seven captains who 
went into action, four gallant men dead, two prisoners, of 
Avhom one is Avounded. Of eleven lieutenants, one killed, 
four Avounded, and one Avounded and a prisoner. And lying 
in a soldier's graA^e, or shattered by bullets, one in every four 
of our men, as noble a group of soldiers as ever graced a 
country's name. 

Last Wednesday Ave left Little Washington. Friday night, 
at twelve o'clock, Ave biA'Oviacked at Culpepper. Next morn- 
ing, after varying orders, Ave Avere moved six miles, hastily, 
to support General CraAA'ford, knoAvn to be threatened by the 
enemy, who, having hastily crossed the Rapidan with his 
advance, was hurrying up his main body. That army, if I 
may rely on the statement of a rebel colonel Avhom I met on 
INIonday, consisted of three divisions, Jackson's, Ewell's, and 
Hill's, — numbering forty-five thousand men. General Pope's 
army consists, as you know, of the commands of General 
16* 



186 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

McDowell, General Banks, and General Sigel (who took the 
place of General Fremont in charge of the troops formerly 
in Western Virginia). AYhy these were not concentrated is 
known only to those in power. As it was, General Banks 
was thrown forward ; General Sigel was still at Sperryville, 
or perhaps on the road, and General McDowell was too far 
to help, — no, we passed one brigade at least, less than three 
miles from the battle ground, which had lain there since four 
A. M., waiting for orders, and Avhich lay there till we were 
done fighting, — while an inadequate force was opposed to 
the enemy, as usual. 

Losing one man that day by sun-stroke, at twelve M. we 
reached the position assigned us, the extreme right, which 
was slightly bent from the enemy, and were stationed on 
a height important to be held. A mile and a half due south, 
or very nearly so, is Cedar Mountain, in front of Avhich, and 
round its sides, lay the rebel forces ; troops being stationed 
westward, however, holding as their left a wooded eminence, 
but the bulk of their army running southwest, back of their 
right. Part Avay up the mountain they had posted artillery 
also. On the side of the mountain was Jackson himself, and 
from that eminence could see all our movements, as I have 
found by a personal visit to that place. Not a regiment of 
ours could go into action wdthout his knowledge. Almost 
parallel with their line was ours, five brigades, in this order 
from right to left, viz., Gordon's, Crawford's, Geary's, 
Greene's, and Prince's. General Gordon's original position 
was never attacked. Our right was on a w^ooded swell ; our 
centre and left on rolling land, almost a plain. We had with- 
drawn before from an advanced position. But it w^as early 
in the afternoon when the enemy advanced their skirmishers. 
They were met in the same way. Then the enemy opened a 



BATTLE OF CEDAR MOL'XTAIN. 187 

fire of artillery, to which our guns responded. Going some- 
what in front of our brigade position, I had a full view of 
this artillery fight, which was almost entirely confined to the 
centre aud left. The firing was rapid and with eflfect on both 
sides. The shell from the enemy's guns would raise clouds 
of dust as they ploughed the ground, Avhen they did not strike 
fatally ; while on the other side, the number of slain horses 
I have since seen there, attest the accuracy of our fire. So 
an hour passed. A cavalry movement now and then ; the 
withdi'awal of our guns a short distance ; movements of in- 
fantry to support them, — all were visible. 

But about five P. M., Gen. Crawford's l)rigade was hard 
pressed by a concentrated force of the enemy's infantry. Im- 
agine a wood of perhaps an eighth of a mile in thickness, on 
elevated land, running east and west ; the front edge of that 
is General Crawford's position. Then, an open oblong field, 
somewhat rough, two hundred yards wide. Then another 
wood parallel to the first, and of rather less thickness, and the 
northerly front line of that is the rebel position. And at the 
Avestern end of the intermediate field was another wood, 
making the field bordered by wood north, Avest, and south. 
General Crawford was holding the north side, with his own 
brigade increased by a portion of the Wisconsin Third, — as 
gallant a regiment as there is in service, the statements of some 
liar in New York papers to the conti'ary notwithstanding. 
That wood was the key to the enemy's position, and behind 
it, also, was artillery firing on our centre. General Crawford's 
brigade fought well. He was not the only general there, nor 
were his troops all that were worth mentioning, although a 
correspondent of the New York Times of Tuesday seems 
able to see little else : the date of a letter in juxtaposition, 
from the same writer, accounts for the character of the 



188 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

letter. General Crawford's men finally made a charge 
across the open field. The moment they entered that field 
the storm of death began. Yet most nobly did his men press 
on. Through the field, and into the rebel wood about thirty 
yards (I found their dead there afterward), when they melted, 
away like snow placed in a July sun. 

General Gordon was ordered to change position and support ■ | 
General Crawford. With the Second Massachusetts, the Third 
Wisconsin (restored to its brigade), and the Twenty-seventh 
Indiana,, he instantly hurried to the line. General Geary ■ 
Avas then endeavoring to operate on the centre, but the artil- 
lery had ceased, and nothing but musketry was heard. It was 
furious. General Gordon went to support General Crawford, 
but he replaced him ; for that brigade had vanished, and its 
scattered remnants I saw coming singly back. One fourth of 
it was found the next day. 

As the new brigade took its place the fire was terrific. 
Backward and forward the bullets flew like hail. Then the 
dead began to fall. There hosts of wounded men were car- 
ried ofi". Among the first Avounded was our surgeon ; both 
assistant surgeons were aAvay, one sick and one sent to Alex- 
andria with sick men ; and it fell to me to keep steady the 
movement of ambulances to and fro. Our division hospital 
Avas established in a house and grounds from Avhich I had 
Avitnessed the fight in the centre, where Dr. Chappel, our 
admirable division medical director, was in charge. 
^T What coidd men do outnumbered as ours Avere? Where 
were reenforcements ? What could one brigade accomplish 
against a foe steadily replaced by fresh troops ? Why was 
not a force stationed to prevent the fianking on the west? 
Yet for more than half an hour those gallant men fought 
steadily and coolly, outnumbered, and Avorse, outflanked ; for 



THE RESULT. 189 

the enemy filled now the western wood as well as the oppo- 
site. Then his line advanced. In front and obliquely on our 
right, came three fresh brigades against our shattered one. 
The cross fire Avas savage. The right of our line, the Twenty- 
seventh Indiana, Avithered before it. So company after com- 
pany shrivelled up in the fire till the Second Massachusetts, the 
left, stood alone. It stood — alone. Its fire thinned the ad- 
vancing line every moment, but under the enfilading aim, the 
ranks greAV less every moment, p Enough Avas done for honor, 
but none fell back till the order Avas given. One terrible 
A'oUey it poured in Avhen the enemy Avas Avithin sixty yards.* 
Then the order came, and it retreated, Avith one third of 
its strength gone. 

The enemy occupied the wood, but did not pursue. The 
brigade reformed in its earlier position. " This must beheld 
to the last," Avas the general's order. But the centre and left 
had fallen back, and orders came for this brigade to leave its 
position and take a ncAV one in the front of the centre of the 
ncAV line of defence. And noAv it Avas night. 

But I was not Avith the regiment then. Our colonel could 
not bear to leave his OAvn wounded men Avithout some care 
from his oaati regiment, and it Avas my privilege to remain. 
We expected — we AA^ere told — that in half an hour the ene- 
my would occupy this important height. We were agreeably 
disappointed. Though he pushed up his force on the central 
plain past our house and lay there, not three hundred yards 
off, though toAvard the battle field Ave were outside our lines, 
yet no man molested us. And all night, with our flickering 
lights almost eclipsed by the full moon, yet under the solemn 

* The line advancing in front now got nearer than that sixty yards. 
Our fire stopped it, bewildered ; so our own officers, prisoners, afterward 
told us. 



190 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

trees avc kept on our sober Avoi-k with oixr three hundred in- 
jured men. 

It was a strange scene. Within the house lay wounded, 
dying men ; without, they covered the ground. Then the 
surgeons, with every one Avho could bind up a wounded limb, 
were busy. Dr. Chappel Avas the soul of order, and the good 
surgeons worked hard. A few hundred yards off, to the 
east, we could see the glittering musket-barrels of the enemy 
as his sentries now and then emerged in the moonlight. About 
eleven o'clock a flash, a report, and a whizzing shell flew 
screaming by into the woods just north of us, and another, 
and another, then over us, and a storm of them. Then our 
own artillery came into play very near them, and soon the 
thunder was continuous, and the lightning never ceased flash- 
ing from their muzzles.* After half an hour it ceased. We 
could not tell which had driven, but still the enemy's muskets 
gleamed in front of us. 

The removal of our wounded men was determined upon. 
Through a rear path in the woods (the main road covered by 
the enemy, but I knew, fortunately, another) , we sent them 
away. How slowly the number seemed to diminish ! How 
few seemed the ambulances ! But patience succeeded, and 
after the rebel shell ceased to fall on the road we had to use, 
up to morning there was no cessation.| A little past five the 
last of ours in hospital was sent on, and my duty was accom- 
plished in that regard. The director had assigned to me the 
task of filling and despatching the ambulances, for the sur- 
geons had especial work to do ; and I was rejoiced when one 
trip only of the vehicle was necessary to take all. Dr. Ben- 

* I afterwards counted eleven dead horses of the enemy in a space not 
four rods square. 

.t Among the number was the brave Colonel Donelly, mortally wounded, 
with whom I had considerable conversation, as v/iih others. 



REMOVAL OF THE WOUNDED. 191 

nett, a true man, volunteered to stay for them. It was a 
relief when that trip ended ; for at three o'clock General 
McDowell, who had come near, had sent us word that that 
spot would be untenable in the morning. 

And when, as the gray of morning came on, we looked to 
the right, near a mile away were the rebels drawn up in a long 
line of battle. As we looked to the left, our brigades were 
defiling into position. So when the work was done, the house 
was left to itself, or to a family of women and children, 
whom I had urged to leave, but who, irresolute, knew not 
what to do. Of that family there was a beautiful child, a 
boy of eighteen months, Avho, on the day before, while the 
air Avas filled with the heavy artillery thunder, slept on as 
sweetly as though only the pure summer air fanned him and 
only his mother's lullaby was charming him to rest. When, 
next day, a way was found to remove this little child of a 
rebel family, and the women also, by General Gordon's pass, 
and under escort, I was glad. As I saw this child, into 
whose home a stray shot rriight at any time send death, per- 
haps there had been thoughts of another little one, as beau- 
tiful in face, as princely in form, for whose memory's sake I 
would pity such, though he is With the angels of God forever. 

After securing the commencement of the removal of our 
own wounded from the second hospital, I returned to the 
regiment, and was du'ected to remain. All day the armies 
were sullenly watching each other, but there was quiet. At 
night, late, a wounded man who had crept oflT the battle-field 
said that the rebels had left most of our wounded there. It 
was a statement hard to be believed, — it was barbarous, — 
but it Avas true. A party was immediately and cordially de- 
tailed by our colonel, at the suggestion of our general, to go 
thither, it being rumored that the rebel pickets had beeu 



192 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAriDAN. 

draA\Ti off. Lieutenant Abbott commanded it. We Avent 
three miles, but, half a mile from the field. General Sigel re- 
fused to allow the risk of losing the party. It was midnight, 
and we slept by our outer pickets. Early in the morning we 
went. Telegrams say that the rebels " asked leave to bury 
their dead ! " Asked leave ? They had held the ground for 
thirty-six hours, and I saAv not one rebel corpse. It chanced ■] 
to me to be in advance. I went to the edge of the wood. 
Rebel sentries were in the open field. I waved a handker- 
chief, and pointed to our Avouuded. The rebel nearest waved 
his cap and nodded. So I had the indescribable happiness of 
being the first to tell to the wounded men still there that help 
was at hand. As we came to each they cried for joy. They 
put their arms around our necks. Our strong men, Avho had 
fought well, and now came back for their comrades, cried too. 
Though the rebels had been guilty of the barbarity of not 
taking to hospital our severely Avounded men, and of not in- 
forming us of the fact, though the field was in their possession, 
— Avhile Ave ahvays treat both sides alike, — yet rebel privates 
had been kind. They had built shelters of boughs ; had 
brought Avater, and sometimes biscuit and apples. But all 
the dead, and many of the AA'ounded, had been stripped of 
everything valuable, even to outer clothing.* 

We removed oup wounded. We buried our dead. Our 
dead ! The pride of Massachusetts ! There lay one with 
Avhom, just as the regiment moved into action, I had been in 
conversation. He was ordered to advance with his company 

* I shall never forget an interview with one officer (not of ours) lying 
mortally wounded. He knew me. I was giving him some water, when he 
feebly said, " I know I must die. I am a Catholic. I die a true Catholic, 
though a poor one. Understand that. But I wish you would pray with 
nie." He soon died — a Christian. What did I care that he was a 
Catholic ? 



BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 193 

as skirmishers, and I noticed then the clear, ringing, brave 
voice with which he said " Fall in, men ! " And another, the 
frank, straightforward, conrageous man. And another who 
had left an ambulance to go to the field, and who, as I had 
asked him, " Are you strong enough to go? " had ansAvered 
with a smile, " I cannot stay when my men go ! " and buckled 
on his sword. And another, lying there as though asleep, 
falling with a miniature on his breast — a true, brave man, 
who had, a little before, said to me, " If anything should hap- 
pen to me, it would kill " And all around, the men, the 

noble men, so uselessly slaughtered. My heart Avas full. 
How long, O Lord, how long before these men, slaughtered 
by infernal ambition, be avenged? Come, Lord, and tarry 
not! 

Southern men were about us. I went to the rebel lines, 
for we heard there that it Avas now truce. I met colonels and 
a general. They were courteous and kind, and far from ex- 
ultant. On learning that I was a chaplain, the general showed 
the greatest regard for an office which some Union generals 
treat with contempt ; * so did one of our generals, who late 
in the day found me the only one on the field except enlisted 
men, and put me in charge of the burials. 

But it took till far into midday to bury our dead. Those 

* I could not write then one fact. The rebel general had come to the 
line, as I saluted him for the second time. I inquired for some of our 
missing, and he kindly sent an officer to ascertain, but uselessly. Seeing 
my disappointment, he said, " Come over yourself ; of course (with a smile) 
on honor." " Of course," I replied, as I thanked him. Passing the sentries, 
and going beyond the wood, until I saw the valley stretching off on the 
west side of the mountain, I saw that the rebel army had gone. Only a 
shell was left. He noticed my astonishment, and smilingly said, "You are 
on honor, you know." It was not till some time afterward that a recon- 
noisance discovered the fact, which, of course, I could not mention. I went 
where I pleased, but T could learn little of our men. 
17 



194 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

of ours (and we identified most) are in two graves near to- 
gether ; and I had trees around them marked deeply, each 
with three cuts, that if any one should ever wish to know 
where these men lay, the spot should be identified for the 
holy pilgrimage. 

As soldier hands were laying our brave men in their graves, 
and we were covering them first with green leaves, my eye 
was attracted by a leaf, which with others had evidently been 
in the hands of some dying man. And my glance fell first on 
these words : — 

" Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what 
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and 
godliness. 

" Looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. 

" Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new 
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 

We left our dead. But the leaf I reverently folded and 
carefully keep ; and I will leave it to my child, and tell her to 
honor the dead of the brave, gallant, Second Massachusetts, 
whom her father loved. . 



THE HOvSPITAL. 195 



CHAPTER VIII, 



POPE S KETREAT. 



On the Road to Somewhere, September 3, 1862. 

To somewhere : but where to ? 

My last letter forwarded told about the Cedar Mountain 
battle. My next was stopped by orders which prohibited all 
mails from leaving, expelled reporters, and denied the use of 
the telegraph. Instead, therefore, of reliable information, 
the people have had unfounded rumors, lying statements and 
gross deceptions. They have learned, however, the general 
fact that the army Avhich was recently on the Rapidan was 
soon on the Rappahannock, next at Bull Run, and now, 
doubtless, near or in the fortifications in front of Washington ; 
that, day after day, the thunder of artillery has been the 
music of our armies, while hard marches and hunger have 
taxed our strength, and pitched battles have drawn the blood 
of the gallant soldiers of the Union. But they learned this 
only by the gradual sifting of the statements it was impossible 
to confine. 

Of many of the recent movements, and of the recent battles, 
I know little from personal participation. Our corps was not 
called upon in the battles of last week. Why, we do not 
know ; who does ? But a part I saw ; and of the general 
bearing of events it is easy to leai'n. And, in the army we 



196 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

are constantly saying, " What is the use of lying?" Things 
transpiring under our very eyes are so grossly misstated that 
we become sceptical to all accounts. I am reminded of a 
map of tke battle-ground of the 9th of August, which appeared 

in the New York . I tried the top as north ; I made it 

east ; I made it south ; I made it Avest ; but not the least re- 
semblance could I trace. Such are many accounts of affairs 
until the public press — which may God preserve free as the 
refuge of our liberties — examines and sifts. 

We' are congratulated on the victory at Cedar Mountain ! 
Cedar Mountain a victory ! One brigade almost annihilated ; 
another losing one third of its strength ; all badly suffering ; 
our forces driven from the field ; the ground occupied by the 
enemy for two days, and then left at their pleasure ; our dead 
buried, and our wounded brought off at the sufferance of the 
enemy thirty-six hours after the fight ; what a glorious 
victory ! * 

Then these successive stages of affairs appear. First, the 
movements between the Rapidan and the Rappahannock, end- 
ing in our retreating over the latter river. Secondly, the 
various operations on that line, ending in Jackson's appear- 
ance at Manassas in our rear. Thirdly, the various ma- 
noeuvres and fightings by which Ave and the enemy reverse 
positions, he establishing his line of communication with the 
south, and we with the north, folio Aving Avhich are the battles 
of Friday and Saturday last. Fourthly, the attempt, or ap- 
pearance of attempt, to turn our right Avhile Ave still held 

* It has been alleged that General Banks brought on this action in a 
place not contemplated, and contrary to orders. There is no truth in it. 
I knew what the orders were. An officer came with them the morning of 
the 9th. " General Pope directs that you will do " so and so. " Plrase put 
that in writing," said General Banks. It was done ; and that writing is 
doubtless in existence. 



POPE'S MOVEMENTS. 197 

Centreville, and the necessary falling back to the line of the 
fortifications. In all this, that we were tolerably clearly out- 
manoeuvred, and partially defeated, is evident, though the 
relative size of the armies may have rendered any other result 
impossible. . 

First, General Pope appeared bent on a vigorous pursuit 
of Jackson. He advanced to the Rapidan. He threatened 
battle. Jackson had retired thither after the battle of the 
9th, and is reenforced. On the day that Jackson awaits the 
attack, General Pope — the 19th of August — suddenly with- 
draws. He had been sending all his supplies and trains to 
the rear. They were all safe, and rapidly and in perfect 
order the various columns move northward to the Rappa- 
hannock, cross it before Jackson can harass the army, and 
accomplish most successfully a skilful movement. Our forces 
were not sufficient to hazard a battle at the Rapidan, but 
Avere enough to engage attention while General McClellan 
accomplished his withdrawal from the Peninsula. That 
object attained, General Pope retires, to unite with General 
McClellan. 

On the Sunday after the battle of the 9th of August, we ^ 
moved to a wood about two miles and a half from the battle 
ground, where we bivouacked two nights. On Tuesday we 
returned to our camping ground, just outside of Culpepper 
on the north, where our wagons had been left, andAvhere our 
tents were then pitched. It was a sad evening, becaiise so 
many tents were empty. But there we staid until Monday, 
Avhen, in the afternoon, tents were struck, and wagons des- 
patched to the Rappahannock. We remained until midnight, 
finding rest as we could under rather unfavorable circum- 
stances ; then moved a mile or so, and built fires, and slept 
somewhat till day ; then, after various vexatious delays, 
17* 



198 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

moved several rods ; then waited for orders and got them, 
and moved several I'ods more ; and by fits and starts moved 
along, vexed by somebody's trains, several miles ; then left 
the trains entirely, and marched to the north side of the Rappa- 
hannock River, at the crossing of the railway to Culpepper ; 
there we bivouacked — our wagons still ten miles onward. 
Then, the enemy having soon followed, the Rappahannock 
River is the scene of operations. The day after our arrival, 
about noon, we hear rapid firing, and soon see on the plain 
across, the movements of cavalry and skirmishers. So for 
day after day the cannon gives the morning reveille, and up 
and down the river we move. At first our right is General 
Sigel ; our centre. General McDowell ; our left. General 
Banks. But each corps is movable, and General Reno is 
added. The enemy felt our lines at all points. Every ford 
for miles was tested in turn. August 21, our corps moved 
down the river a mile. The next day up the river five or 
six, where brisk cannonading was going on, and a Union bat- 
tery driven off". The next morning, Corthren's gallant battery 
of ten pounders, which our brigade supported, silenced and 
shattered tioo batteries of twelve pounders, and we could see 
dead and wounded carried off, while Corthren's loss was one 
man wounded, one caisson demolished, one horse struck. 
That day up the river again, and a damp bivouac ; the next 
day the whole move up, passing a terrific fire from the oppo- 
site enemy near Sulphur Springs, his shot crashing through 
the, woods for several hours, but at last nearly silenced, with 
little loss. Next day down the river, and next day, and so 
on, until our corps was near Bealeton. 

Accounts tell how the enemy was repulsed at all points on 
the river. I could not see that he ever made an attack in 
great force at all. He kept the line alive, but for three days 



'^■ii 



OUTGENERALLED AND DEFEATED. 199 

he was visibly sending his columns up the river, infantry iu 
long lines, and artillery. Where was he going ? Amusing 
our army below, he was steadily crossing somewhere above, 
and suddenly we awoke to find that, on Friday ^ight, the 
22d, his cavalry had dashed through Warrenton, pushed on 
to Catlett's, burnt General Pope's baggage ; that a little later 
his columns had occupied Manassas Junction, where they 
burnt supplies and property worth hundreds upon hundreds 
of thousands ; that he held Thoroughfare Gap, through which 
his forces had poured, tidings which two blacks had brought ; 
that he was in our rear, our communication with Washing- 
ton cut off, our junction with the Peninsula army incom- 
plete. 

Then our front was changed. Jackson was " in a trap." 
On Wednesday, August 27, Warrenton was evacuated by 
the Union troops. General Banks remaining near Bealcton. 
The array moved to Gainesville, — General Sigel toward 
Manassas, — and a portion of General McDowell's corps 
toward Thoroughfare Gap, to prevent a junction between 
reenforcements and Jackson. An action took place there, 
from which our troops " withdrew." On Thursday night 
General McDowell Avas on the Centreville road, looking 
noz'thward — where I saw it, being sent thitherward with 
sick. Friday morning commenced the great battle. Of that 
I know nothing personally, leaving Gainesville early with 
General Rickett's division, which Avas moving tOAvards Ma- 
nassas. That day's fighting undoubtedly resulted favorably 
to us. But on Saturday heavy reenforcements reached Jack- 
sou. He had skilfully changed position till a junction could 
not be prevented. On Saturday avc Avere defeated. Not 
pursued, but still defeated, and with great loss. Then our 
lines fell back to Centre\'ille, and held a strong position. 



200 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

In the mean time General Banks was near Bristow Sta- 
tion, four miles below Manassas Junction. Valuable stores 
Avere there. General Hooker had driven the enemy away 
from the Junction. The stores were being rapidly removed. 
But during Friday, during Saturday, the corps Avas not sum- 
moned to the field. All day Friday we impatiently heard 
the steady fire. Saturday night found us still between Bris- ■, 
tow and Manassas Junction. Sunday morning wc were 
suddenly ordered to burn stores, burn heavy baggage, and 
make a forced march by a long detour. Our direct com- 
munication with the army was sundered. So past the flames 
of long lines of burning cars, past exploding ammunition, Ave 
hastened to Brentsville, forded the rapidly rising Occoquan 
Creek, and by noon had safely come into junction Avith the 
main army. It Avas well done. General Banks did it. 

Centreville Avas a strong position, but it could be turned 
too easily. So backAvard to Fairfax ; baclvAvard still. Fight- 
ing here, fighting there. Immense lines of ambulances loaded 
Avith Avounded. Laid upon the ground for transportation to 
come, they covered acres. Hoav they cursed one man ! 

Sunday night there Avas a rumor that General McClellan 
was to command. Hoav it thrilled the army ! Hoav it elec- 
trified the soldiers ! I should not have believed the enthusiasm 
had I not seen it in passing through two corps. I saw some 
of his OAA^n soldiers. Said one to me, " If General McClellan 
should say to his old soldiers, ' Boys, who Avill go back Avith 
me to the Peninsula and try it again ? ' every one would say, 
' / will, general ! ' " 

That disasters' have come is iindeniable. That anxieties 
must prevail for some time is clear. But Ave have a great 
army. We liaAC courageous soldiers. Reeuforcements are 
rapidly coming. The gi*eat North is not defeated. Every 



JACKSON'S SKILL. 201 

day of delay will strengthen us. While McClellan remained 
on the Peninsula, the enemy dared not send away too heavy a 
force. The order for his return freed the hostile army, and 
therefore we have to meet it. But be not discouraged. The 
army is not hopeless of remedy, though several features of 
affaii's do depress it. So far it has not been broken. But 
as to its confidence in present leaders, the less said the 
better. 

But Jackson skilfully passed the river above us. He threw 
himself boldly in oiu' rear. Supposed to be trapped, he yet 
held his ovm, and so manoeuvred as to secure his line of reen- 
forcements. He destroyed immense stoi'es. He has changed 
our positions until he has an untroubled rear, and a clear 
road from Richmond. He has transferred the w^ar to the 
vicinity of Washington. He has made us the defenders — 
put himself in the aggi-essive. 



Maryland, September 10, 1862. 

I WROTE a somewhat general account of the recent events. 
Before you received it, I am asked for " personal observa- 
tions." This request presumed that our regiment was in 
some of the battles, which was not correct. Nevertheless, I 
will follow my OAvn line of travel as to what I saw. I had 
seen a rebel general, whose prayers, as pitted against outra- 
geous profanity, I was more afraid of than of twenty thousand 
men. When a high commander selected Sunday as the day 
to review our corps for the first time, I felt badly, so did 
others. It was partial reKef, that General Banks, who reg- 
ulates the choice of day, but could not help himself, directed 
religious services to be held with the whole corps immediately 



202 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

after the review ; but the high general galloped off in a 
hurry, doubtless from " military exigencies." 

While "vve were moving up and down the Rappahannock, 
where the enemy were amusing our general by little attacks 
along the line, I saw rebel columns on the opposite side of 
the river moving northward. Where they were going, 
nobody knew. Where they were to strike, Avho took the li 
trouble to find out? But they struck in our rear, destroyed 
millions worth of property, cut oif our lines of communica- 
tion, reenforced their moderate army, and defeated the army 
of Virginia. 

I saw there, on the Rappahannock, soldiers faint Avith hun- 
ger ; considering whether to eat a biscuit, or save it until 
morning ; glad to receive the remnants of meat which some 
others had to spare ; roasting green corn, not as a luxury, but 
to satisfy hunger. This was in an army whose general had, 
in his first order, ridiculed having " bases of supplies." 

I saw, on eventful and disastrous days, a whole corps lying 
idle within sound of the battle. 

I saw millions of dollars worth of property destroyed, all 
of which could have been saved, had the general not laughed 
at " lines of retreat." 

I saw the order which prohibited all mails from leaving, 
all use of telegraph except by the general, and excluded all 
newspaper reporters. 

More particularly and personally, when news came that 
Jackson was between us and Washington, Ave were near 
Sulphur Springs. It was immediately thought that the 
enemy had rashly exposed themselves to capture, and move- 
ments appear to have been made with the view of accom- 
plishing that result. 

Our corps was sent toward Bealeton, on the railroad, and 
took no part in subsequent activities beyond marchings. 



WARRENTON EVACUATED. 203 

It was on the 23d of August that Ave heard this, but I do 
not learn that any marked movements were made until the 
next Wednesday, the 27th. On the 26th, while we were 
on the road toward Bealeton, I was sent to Warrenton, in 
charge of a sick man, a member of General Gordon's staiF, 
with the hope of sending him through to Washington. 
Reaching there about noon, I found hospitals full of sick 
men. They were in churches mainly, but in the afternoon 
were placed in cars and started for Washington. They were 
brought back that night, the road not having been repaired. 
My own charge I concluded to put into a house in War- 
renton. 

But the next day it was determined to evacuate War- 
renton.* The sick were again put into cars, to be sent as far 
as the road could allow. General Sigel and General Mc- 
Dowell were in town. General Sigel started early in the 
day, General McDowell towards night. Unable to return 
to my regiment on account of unsafe roads, indeed, ignorant 
of its position, and Avithout transportation for the sick man, 
I concluded to join friends and keep with a column. So, 
finding the brigade (in General McDowell's corps), Avhich 
held the Twelfth and Thirteenth Massachusetts, being cor- 
dially received and furnished with ambulance for my friend, 
I left Warrenton with the corps about five P. M. It moved 
through NeAv Baltimore toAvards Gainesville, on the Centre- 
ville road. It Avas a weary march. The road was rocky, 
the numberless streams (of course bridgeless) seemed to run 
lengthAvise of the road, and it Avas dark. The column grad- 

* I have been surprised to read that Warrenton was evacuated " imme- 
diately" on hearing that Jackson had cut the road. That information 
came on the 23d. I was at Warrenton when the evacuation commenced, 
on the 27th. 



204 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAriDAN, 

ually wasted away, until about one A. M., Avhen a halt and 
bivouac was ordered. 

Of that wearisome march I have a marked recollection, 
because it was the last time I saw Colonel Fletcher Webster, 
as kind-heai'ted a man as ever lived, and a brave officer. We 
rode side and side much of the way. The remnant of the 
night I lay near him, and we slept soundly, though he had 
only (as I did) a rubber blanket and overcoat, and it rained 
a part of the night. He shared with me his breakfast, 
which he ate without gi'umbling, though it was only coffee 
(without sugar) and hard biscuit. He seemed to me on that 
march rather thoughtful, though by no means sad, and play- 
fully indorsed me, as I had been received into their care with 
my sick, as their " acting chaplain." He was a noble-hearted 
man ; God hallow his memory.* 

In the morning, providentially, I met tAvo wagons of our 
own (one an ambulance), loaded with supplies, but unable 
to reach the regiment. One wagon-master, one ward-master, 
a driver, and three soldiers as wagon guard, were of the 
party, and gladly did I greet it. We kept with the brigade 

* I venture to insert, with some hesitation, the fact that the last previous 
occasion on which I had seen him, was when he had just heard of the death 
of a daughter. I was in his camp one day, when I was told of it. He had 
been refused leave to go to the funeral, and had shut himself in his tent. 
They told me that he appeared strangely, no one daring to speak to him 
even ; and some of the staff urged me to go to him. I did so. I remem- 
bered well the little girl who was the life of the camp at Frederick. 

I went into his tent. He did not look up. I ventured to take his hand. 
He looked then very sternly. But I said nothing. Waiting a moment, he 
saw I was not going to try to comfort him, for how hard that is to bear I 
sadly know. Then as if feeling I was a friend, his countenance changed. 
He pressed my hand and said, " Ah, it was my last bom, my treasure ! " 
and then the tears gushed forth. The stern fit had passed as the tears came, 
and he was himself again. 



4 



ON THE ROAD. 205 

until it turned off, about two miles back of Gainesville, to 
go to Thoroughfare Gap, with the hope of checking the 
advance of the rebels through that entrance. They had 
there a fight that afternoon with partial success, and retired 
near to Gainesville that night, which I did not learn till the 
next day. 

After that brigade turned off, I continued with General 
McDowell's corps to Gainesville — a railway station, with 
two or three houses. The corps went on the road to Ma- 
nassas a few miles, — the same road by which General Sigel, 
I was told, had gone in the forenoon. Here our small party 
halted, built a fire, and cooked its dinner, in the midst of 
immense wagon trains, cavalry pickets, straggling soldiers, 
enough to make several regiments, and opposite a house 
whose hospital flag show^ed its use. An hour or two after- 
wards we tried the Manassas road, in the presumption that 
General Banks would be moving thither, to strengthen our 
then right ; but a few miles on, before Ave had emerged from 
General McDowell's regiments, we learned that the road Avas 
unsafe for so small a force as four guns and two pistols. We 
could hear, also, vigorous firing in that direction. So, remain- 
ing a Avhile quiet, we watched events. General McDow^ 
himself was on a hill near, to the right of the road to Centre- 
ville, studying a map, and sweeping the country with his glass. 
Soon and suddenly his regiments began to move, and steadily 
poured towards and on the Centreville road. Curiosity led 
to an investigation, and discovered that he took position on a 
beautiful ridge across the road a mile or so, looking north- 
ward, and about three miles from Gainesville. Here a very 
pretty little fight took place. The enemy attacked, but our 
mn repidsed them with great ease. This was Thursday, 
about sunset. A little earlier, we had been told at head- 
18 



206 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

quarters that Banks was at Thoroughfare Gap, just the 
other end of the line from his real position. I knew better 
of course. 

Moving back a mile or two, our little party camped. 
That is, it turned into an open grove by the roadside, unhar 
nessed and unsaddled, and fed horses, cooked supper, and 
went to bed; that is, wrapped " the drapery of our couch" 
about us, viz., blankets, and laid down under the trees. 
Just opposite was a party of cavalry in charge of rebel pris- 
oners. I visited the party, and talked with the prisoners, a 
very good-natured set of men. One was a South Carolinian, 
of good education. Pardon me, patriot, if I, for the love of 
my child's kindred of that State, helped him to something 
better than the confederate paper, which was all he had for 
his captivity. 

That night Ave could hear the rumbling of artillery wheels, 
apparently moving westward, though there was no firing. 
Where they went, or how our army changed its front, I can- 
not yet understand. But in the morning I found Gen. Rick- 
ett's division already on the road from Gainesville to Bristow, 
south of Manassas Junction. We followed, and seven or 
eight miles on, foimd General Banks's corps. 

That day, Friday, we heard — all day long — the sound of 
the battle. Impatiently we waited — in vain. It is said that 
ten thousand men more would have given the country the 
victory. WTiy, then was General Banks's corps kept idle ? 

At night, just after tattoo, came orders for our brigade t 
go out on picket. So we did, moving about two miles, to] 
near Broad Run, where we lay do"\\Ti by the side of a grave 
yard. No alarm took place whatever. The next day, the 
corps began to move northward, by Manassas, saving one 
brigade, which remained to see to the removal of long trains! 



t 



THE RETREAT. 207 

of supplies, as well as of sick and wounded. About noon we 
crossed Broad Run ourselves, moved on a mile, and then 
returned and took up our position on the north side of that 
stream ; and here, before dai-k, came back General Banks's 
corps, Avith tidings that General Pope had gained a great vic- 
tory. But while we were cooking our suppers the battle 
Avas raging, that Saturday evening, which proved so disas- 
trous to our arms ; and our corps was left uncalled for. 

Next morning we had sudden orders. " Burn all baggage 
but two ambulances. Move instantly." At seven we started, 
but saved our little train. We saved it, on condition that at 
the first delay from it, it should be burned. The corps was 
said to be cut off, and we must hasten to Occoquan Creek 
before the pouring rain should render it unfordable. A half 
mile on the road we crossed the railway ; on it were scores 
upon scores of loaded cars, wrapped in flames. The melan- 
choly and useless loss of property, to be paid for by the hard 
toil of our citizens, accompanied by occasional explosions of 
ammunition, the drenching rain, and the exigency of the 
march, made it a spectacle I never desire to see repeated. 

Passing through Brentsville, fording Occoquan Creek, 
never stopping for five hours, at last we saw the railway 
again, near Bull Run, with the road open to Centreville — 
a virtual junction. Of the real exigency I know nothing. 
But under the orders which he received, the promptness with 
which General Banks moved, the steadiness of his march 
(with our Second leading), and the perfect order of his move- 
ments, are characteristics of a man whom Massachusetts de- 
lights to honor. 

At the railroad I was again sent forward with sick, in the 
hope, finally to be accomplished, of finding an open road to 
Washington. We went on by the rebel cordiiroy roads of 



208 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

last winter toCeutrevillo. This new observation of the rebel 
position only strengthened my old conviction that an attack on 
the rebel stronghold last winter would have been madness. 

At Centreville, on the heights, were immense forces. It 
was difficult to conceive how they could have been worsted 
the day before ; but all whom I questioned as to events, had 
no lack of confidence in the soldiery. 

I had no time to delay. Already I saw signs of backward 
movement, and to be entangled in trains would have been 
unpleasant. Besides, I heard orders which evidently con- 
templated movement. I had but just started, Avhen Provi- 
dence favored me ■s^'ith a sudden meeting which delighted me. 
It was with my friend Mr. John A. Fowle, the excellent 
chairman of the executive committee of the association in 
Washington for the relief of Massachusetts soldiers. He 
had procured a government ambulance, loaded it with sup- 
plies, and, with his brother and — I will not say whom else — 
worked for twenty-four hours among the wounded, binding up 
hurts, comforting and relieving the helpless. I have seen him 
in hospitals in Washington, too, and know his faithfulness. 
The widow and the fatherless bless him ! Of him I procured 
supplies ; joined a long, long train of ambulances ; reached 
Fairfax Court-Hovise, and was then ordered to Fairfax Sta- 
tion, 

The sight there cannot be described. The floors of cars 
and the roofs were covered. Acres of ground were strewn 
with the wounded men. Train after train had gone. Yet stUl 
the ambulances came on, on. Camping there, the shriek of 
the steam-whistle broke the hours of that Sabbath night, and 
morning showed loaded trains still. I did not see any chap- 
lains there, but I think there were some ; indeed, I know 
there were next day, for I met my excellent friend, Chaplain 



t 



1 



THE WOUNDED. 209 

Gaylord, The -wounded were as well cared for as possible, 
lying upon hay, and attended by siu-geons. The most discon- 
solate men Avere divers government clerks, who had come out 
to assist, and Avho Avere distressed beyond measure because 
they could not return to Washington in cars, every inch of 
Avhich was needed for the wounded. " I came out by invi- 
tation of the secretary of war ! " pompously remarked one. 
•"Well," said the sentry, "we don't knoAV that individual 
here." "But where shall I stay to-night?" " Just where 
you please," said the sentry. I advised him to sleep on some 
hay, if he Avished to sleep. He was horrified. He wanted 
to kuoAv, Avith a triumphant air, if I had eAer slept out of 
doors. I rather thought I had. Had I ever slept when it 
rained ? (It Avas sprinkling just enough to make it pleasant.) 
I intimated to him that he Avas a great baby to fuss that Avay, 
Avith acres of Avounded men lying around him, and gave him 
up. Perhaps I ought not to despise him ; I suppose I was 
just such a fool once. 

Monday morning I Avent back to Fairfax Cou.rt-House, 
and direct to Alexandria. Still the long trains of ambulances 
Avere on the road. The eye wearied, the heart grew faint, in 
seeing them. I was appealed to for Avater, as I had some. 
NoAV e\"ery ambulance of the kind there used has two kegs 
for Avater. I examined, and found that in those long trains 
moA'ing a score of miles, there Avas not one drop of water in 
the kegs ! I am happy to say that in our division such a fact 
Avould court-martial somebody ! 

The army was noAV in retreat. I saAV no disorder. There 

Avas no panic whatever. And, within the foi'tification line. I 

rejoined ours. 

18* 



210 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE ANTIETAM AUTUMN. 



Below Boonsboro', Md., September 16, 1862. 

SuNElSE ! After the loug dark hours, light dawns. Mc- 
Clellau is restored to command. 

The dispirited soldiery, lately depressed by knowing that 
they were steadily out-generalled, and without confidence in 
leaders, have become enthusiastic. The man whom they 
have always respected and loved inspires them. 

Yesterday, wliile we were on the road in several parallel 
columns, McClellan rode through. Without orders, out of 
the enthusiasm of their hearts, spi'ang deafening cheers. The 
sound rolled up from regiment after regiment, brigade after 
brigade, until the voices of scoi-es of thousands swelled the 
shouts. 

We are, for once, following the enemy. He took his own 
time, chose his own positions, occupied hills of wonderful 
capacity for defence, but Northern valor forced his fastnesses, 
and drove him. 

On the fourth of September our own corps left Virginia 
for the third time. We crossed at Georgetown, soberly. 
That day we camped a mile or two above Tenallytown. The 
next day we moved to a brook a mile and a half above Rock- 
ville, where, attached to General Sumner's corps (General 



WATCHING THE ENEMY. 211 

Banks remaining in Washington for other service, and, indeed, 
in poor heahh still) , we formed in line of battle. General Sum- 
ner's force was on the right, ours the centre, and General 
Couch on the left, which rested, I believe, on the Potomac. 
The enemy appeared to threaten on our road with thirty- 
thousand men, while the remainder of his force was moving 
towards Frederick, which he soon occupied. It Avas doubtful 
where the foe would strike. General Burnside came up on our 
right still further off, and on the 9th, it appearing that the 
enemy had moved his whole force toward Frederick, we began 
our march thitherward, General Burnside in advance. Our 
corps bivouacked at Middlebrook that night ; near Damascus 
next night ; still nearer Damascus the next ; half a mile from 
Ijamsville, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, the next ; 
and Saturday night, we were less than a mile out of Fred- 
erick. The whole movement, considering that it was neces- 
sary to watch the development of the enemy's plans, was 
remarkably rapid. 

General Burnside had entered Frederick the evening before, 
with no action save a slight cavalry skirmish in the main 
street, the enemy having evacuated the place the day pre- 
vious. I revisited old friends in Frederick on Saturday 
afternoon, and had good oppoi'tunities to learn a few facts 
derived from high rebel sources. They had over ninety 
thousand men in that army, with one himdred and sixty pieces 
of artillery, — the latter by actual count. They admitted 
that McClellan had Avorsted them in every one of the " seven 
days' fight " on the Peninsula, but left Richmond with perfect 
confidence in their ability to beat General Pope. Had he 
still been in command, they said they would have conducted 
their campaign differently in Maryland. But General Mc- 
Clellan's appointment made them more cautious, and they 



212 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

fell back to an iinmeusely strong position west of Frederick. 
In Frederick they conducted themselves peaceably. AYhat 
they could make useful they purchased, but they paid in 
confedei-ate money, by which some secessionists there suffered 
nicely. It was a favorite amusement to tie the American 
flag to their horses' tails, whereby they made plenty of 
Unionists out of the lukewarm or even secessionists. In 
their main design they were terribly disappointed. Not only 
baffled in their purpose of invasion, but they found Mary- 
laud a Union State. Their pompous proclamation fell dead. 
A few hundreds were all the recruits they obtained in Mary- 
land, where letters had assured them they would find a general 
uprising of the people. They left Frederick, cursing it as a 
Union city. When I remembered the almost supremacy of 
secessionism there last winter, I was delighted to witness 
the change. Our forces were welcomed with tumultuous 
cheers. The city swarmed with American flags. Frederick 
is a loyal town, and confirmed in its loyalty by its disgust 
with the secession soldiery — the leaders educated and iron- 
willed, the privates usually the poorest of " poor white 
trash." 

We had expected to rest on Sunday. But at eight A. M. we 
were put in the road — a road we were on for sixteen hours. 
Long halts, but in tiresome places, and not for rest ; road 
obstructed by trains and artillery ; immense bodies of troops, 
two or three columns abreast ; on by-roads, across fields, 
Avading brooks — up to and over the Catoctin range of hills, 
four miles Avest of Frederick. Here the rebels had made a 
stand, on a ridge capable of great defence. But, on Satur- 
day, General Burnside had attacked them, carried their posi- 
tion, and drove them beyond the river in the Middletown 
Valley, where they burned a bridge. 



SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 213 

The vieAV from this ridge is delightful. The Middlctown 
Valley is wonderfully fertile, and its whole breadth of nine 
miles is covered with beautiful fields or green forests. Had 
it only a broad river like the Connecticut at Mt. Holyoke, 
or a lake, the scenery would be unsm'passed for quiet loveli- 
ness. 

But we heard the sound of artillery all day, and we pressed 
on. "We were in hearing and sight of the battle of South 
Mountain. The march was a singular one, bearing north, 
south, east, west — by road and fields indifferently. At sun- 
set the flashes of guns oil the opposite range, the Blue Ridge, 
and the black puffs hovering in the air, marked the site of 
the artillery. Our object seemed to be to reach the slope by 
night. The general in command found a good place for sup- 
per, and we went on directly across the country a while ; 
through cornfields, the tops of whose products one could not 
reach by standing in the stirrups ; through brooks, and at 
last wading a river ; resting in damp air and on damp groflnd ; 
found at last, at ten P. M., by an orderly of the general's, 
hunting for us ; going on imtil midnight, and at last camping, 
in lack of higher orders, by direction of our brigadier ; exas- 
perated, tired, some of us supperless as weU as dinnerless ; 
having marched over twenty miles to reach eleven in distance ; 
wondering whether it is wise to break soldiers down without 
need. 

"We were to go into position at three A. M., as support to 
General Sturgis, in the repeated renewal of the fight. In the 
morning we found ourselves half up the hill, but the enemy 
were gone. Some of us visited the field. 

The position they had held should have been impregnable. 
Imagine a range of lofty mountains, with here and there a 
winding road through " gaps" themselves very elevated, the 



214 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN 

gi-ound often rocky, with plenty of wood, and commanding 
every approach for miles. At their own pleasure they planted 
their batteries, and placed their infantry, having all the forces 
needed, and occupying a succession of crests as you ascend 
the hills. This was the line which General Sumner, General 
Burnside, and General Hooker attacked. 

From crest after crest the enemy were driven, up to the 
last. When night came on the enemy held the highest land 
on our right, our troops having driven them back from two 
positions, and lying within a few rods of them. In the centre 
the height itself was taken. They were well sheltered be- 
hind the crest of a slope, and walls and fences, yet General 
Burnside's troops had pressed up, driven their batteries, 
slaughtered their infantry, and held the ground. On our left, 
General Hooker had succeeded equally well. 

In the centre the rebel dead, in their strongest position, I 
saw actually heaped one on another ; almost all shot through 
the head as they had risen from behind a stone wall to take 
aim. Near by was a secluded road where they had evidently 
taken care of their wounded. I rode half a mile and found 
relics of their hospital woi-k the whole distance. Our loss 
was slight in comparison. 

The enemy began to retreat as soon as night covered their 
movements ; all night they moved, pressing to the Potomac, 
and at daylight our forces were in rapid pursuit. The enemy 
not only left their dead, but frequently we found along the 
road their wounded, abandoned to our mercy. In Frederick, 
indeed, they left six hundred sick men, paroling a hundred 
and fifty of ours, sick there in hospital. 

I believe that the campaign is now to be active. A battle 
is probable. The men are confident of success. They feel 
now that the army is one, instead of detached pieces as here- 
tofore. They are satisfied. 



GENERAL BANKS. 215 

For ourselves, we have a new general. General Mansfield 
takes General Banks's place. I may be pardoned for referring 
to our late commander again, although I have before repeat- 
edly told you how brave and fearless, as well as discreet, he 
was as a soldier, and how much he was respected by his com- 
mand. The poorest soldier had a friend in General Banks. 
Modest, keeping all gi'ievances to himself, obedient to his 
orders, he has Avon great respect in the army. Had his 
opinion been listened to, the now famous "Banks's" retreat 
would not have been needed. 

I had known our commander earlier. Holding a State 
educational position during the whole of his service as gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts as well as before and after, I had 
occasion officially to know the judgment, integrity, and firm- 
ness with which he acted in the board of which he was chair- 
man in regard to most important interests, pecuniary and 
others ; and often to see in his general administration, how 
firmly he adliered to the good of the State, regardless of mere 
partisanship. And now, while no longer under his command, 
I can say that the same qualifications he applied to his mil- 
itary position. Yet he is more. I speak with reason, in 
saying that he is a sagacious statesman. His predictions 
have been fulfilled, his opinions gradually adopted. 

Speaking as a chaplain, I know that General Banks has 
always been on the side of right. Every chaplain has had all 
opportunities for usefulness which the general could give. 
For that I owe him, and the people owe him a debt of grati- 
tude. 



216 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



Neau Keedtsville, Md., September 18, 1862. 

I CANNOT describe the battle of Antietam Creek. 

I heard the thunder of cannon all day long ; the horrible i 
whirr of shells; the musketry which sometimes became a 
mere roar ; the Cheers of success ; the groans of the wounded ;, 
the whisper of the dying. 

I saw the smoke of a battle-line of five miles ; the fierce, ! 
flashing fire ; the wounded and dead ; the advance, the Avaver^ 
the recovery. 

But what it then meant, or what our commander was try- 
ing to do, who, confined to near one spot, could tell? So 
far as I could imagine the next day, as I examined the county 
map, it seemed as if it was Avanted to drive back each Aving, 
so that the rebels Avoiild be shut Avithin a kind of peninsula 
of the Potomac Eiver.* 

On the Sunday preceding the battle of Antietam (An^eetam 
the neighbors call it, Avithout any exception, to my knoAvledge), 
the Blue Ridge had been carried by our forces, excepting one 
point, which, of course, became untenable. During that 
night the rebels evacuated the ridge, and hurried to and 
through Boonsboro', toAvards the river. Our forces rapidly 
followed. It Avas generally reported by the inhabitants tliat 
the enemy Avere crossing, and undoubtedly a portion had. 
But they returned ; and as it appeared, the Avhole force Avhich 
had been investing Harper's Ferry, also joined Lee's main 
army in season for the battle. Monday evening our corps 
found itself south of Boonsboro' a fcAV miles, where it biv- 

* Of the history of the battle, no other account I have ever seen at all 
equals that by " Carleton " in the Boston Journal, from whose inferences I 
sometimes differ, but whose comprehensive statement of facts has no peer 
among correspondents. 



ANTIETAM. 217 

ouacked. On Tuesday morning no orders came until about 
nine o'clock, when we made ready to move. General Mansfield 
rode up, saying, " You arc going immediately into battle," — a 
declaration received Avith as much coolness as if he had said, 
" You are going to dinner." He was mistaken ; we were 
moved about a mile and a half only, where Ave came suddenly 
in view of om* large forces. On the crest of the hills were 
posted batteries for a mile or more. Down the slopes were 
drawn up long lines of battle, first and second. Just below 
were still other forces. And off to the right was a dense 
mass in reserve — perhaps the most impressive sight I ever 
witnessed — black, motionless, silent, but like a thunder cloud 
in its threatening. We took our place as reserve, and were 
near, I think, what was the centre of the battle line the next 
day. No battle ensued that day. For two or three hours a 
smart cannonade only enlivened the scene. I saw movements 
were, however, steadily going on. A corps was going to the 
left, to the vicinity of the bridge. From the front nothing 
could be seen but a gim or two, and a few shai'pshooters ; the 
rebels lay behind the slopes as ours did ; at least they were 
hidden Avhen I rode itp to the front with our colonel. 

At night we lay doAAOi there. But about half past ten there 
came low, quiet orders to be ready to move. In ten minutes, 
" fall in," and General Mansfield led us by road through 
woods, across the river at Keedysville, up to the vicinity of 
Smoketown, where, at about half past ten we went to sleep, 
under a gentle rain in a field new to Us, but destined to be 
better known, for within musket range the rebel forces Avere 
occupying one of the hiUocks of Antietabi. 

It Avas about five o'clock, when the rattling fixe of skir- 
mishers awoke us. That broke the last slumber of thousands. 
It Avas foUoAved by the heavy sound of artillery. Looking 
19 



218 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN, 

around us we saw our thousands destined to be the right wing, 
for in the night our corps had traversed half our line, and in 
the darkness bivouacked in the midst of an army. It was 
half an hour, perhaps, before our column was formed. Silently 
we moved forward to no drum, no bugle, nothing but the 
word of command and the savage war of artillery. "We 
moved by brigades, in column by divisions, dark and heavy 
spots on the field. But our corps did not yet go into action. 
A little distance, and the order is to halt. Then the men, like 
old soldiers, kindle fires and begin to make their coffee, while 
General Hooker is steadily pressing backward the rebel left. 

But before the coffee is ready, the corps moves up to 
support General Hooker. 

He held the right. Our corps joined his left, though a 
little to his rear, and next to us was General Sumner. All 
the morning Hooker had led his heroic men, a heroic leader. 
The rebel advance had fallen back, but it was to their strong- 
hold. He had pushed up to the right so far as to threaten 
their flank. Then they began to mass their power against 
him. Our left was silent as yet, and they saw where the 
great struggle was. Hooker's force is inadequate. Our corps 
is ordered to support him. Nobly does it respond. It pours a 
steady and terrible fire into the enemy's line. Its effect is 
tremendous. Backward falls the foe before General Mans- 
field's tremendous attack, and General Hooker is relieved. 
But the latter is Avounded, and must leave the field. Mans- 
field receives a mortal shot, and General Williams takes com- 
mand. But the time roUs on, and the conflict is tex'rible. 
Then the enemy bring up new lines. The reserves are all in. 
The line is forced back, but it stands splendidly. The anxiety 
is intense. Can it be that we shall fail? Is defeat our fate, 
and with it the march of a victorious foe upon our capital? 



THE VICTORY. 219 

No. We have left an untenable position in front of that 
rocky height ; that is all. Then General Sumner's corps 
comes on. How reviving the sight ! Up they come in mass, 
then deploy into line amidst the cheers of our shattered troops, 
and rush into the conflict. They dart upon the stony posi- 
tion ; they cannot carry it ; but the ground gained at fii'st is 
held, and the effort to turn our right is a failure. 

It was about noon, I think, — but it seemed night, — when 
the thunder sounded on the left. Burnside was at work. Far 
down the valley was visible the smoke of his guns, but with 
what success we could not tell. Doubtless it relieved our right. 

There is in our wing a lull in the iron storm. Soon after 
one P. M. there is almost entire cessation. By and by the 
cannonading is more intense than ever, and so, with liardly 
varying fortunes, it is sunset before the guns sullenly and 
gradually ceased firing. Then the sky is red with conflagra- 
tions. We do no't know the entire result ; but we know that 
the power of a confident foe, greater in numbers, is broken. 

Our army has fought as never before. " I was in all the 
seven days' peninsular battles," said a wounded rebel officer, 
whom I assisted, "but your men never fought as they do 
to-day." And ours — our oivn men — have increased their 
heroic record.* 

But all this time I had a sad work. The wounded must 

* General Gordon led his brigade like himself, and General Mansfield's 
early wound, with that of General Crawford, put him in command of the 
division. General Gordon's aid, Hon. Charles R. Train, was in the hottest 
of the fight. This gentleman had left the comforts of home — though a 
member of Congress — to take the moderate position of an aide-de-camp, 
where he found his services needed. He plunged at once into the hardships 
of veterans of a year's experience, and bore them well. And in this battle, 
his first experience under fire, like a true and brave man, he deserved well 
of his country. 

And our own brave colonel, so cool, so ready, fit to command the gallant 
men whom he led ! 



220 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

be cared for. From the excitement of battle to the help of 
the suffering is a severe change, but a needful one. How 
nobly the men bore their hurts ! 

How faithfully many a surgeon labored ! Our own as- 
sistant surgeon was a hero; regai-dless of bullets in the 
hottest fire, he kept coolly on his work, — while near, Dr. 
Kendall of the Twelfth Massachusetts was killed. The near- 
est hospital, that of our own corps, was necessarily in range 
of the enemy's shell, which every now and then fell around 
and beyond. Near by were five other hospitals, all for one 
wing. Here were generals and privates brought together. 
General Mansfield I saw dying, and a few feet oflT, an un- 
known private ; General Hartsuff badly wounded, and by 
his side a throng of others now on the same level. There 
is no distinction as to what body or soul needs then. 

Our own regiment helped fill these hospitals. Our gallant 
dead, they are remembered with all the otlrer gallant Massa- 
chusetts dead. But one we lost, — hard to replace, — our 
brilliant, brave, generous, kind-hearted lieutenant-colonel, 
Wilder D wight, shot mortally, but living two days ; of won- 
derful promise at home ; cheerful, resigned, ready to die, — 
his only wish ungratified being to see his father and mother ; 
strong in faith and trust ; hard is it to part with Am, my 
friend, my more than friend. "While lying in the garden, 
moved only on a stretcher, he sent our own surgeon to 
relieve the wounded lying all around, unattended to by the 
surgeons busy cutting off limbs of men even death-struck ; 
and again and again sent water provided for him, to the poor 
fellows calling for it. Yet he was not free from brutal in- 
solence. While waiting there into the night for an ambu- 
lance into which to place Colonel Dwight for shelter only (as 
he could not bear its motion), some men of ours, detached 



BRUTAL SURGEON. 221 

for that purpose, were waiting to help, while all was quiet, 
save the groans of sufferers covering the ground, suddenly 
a harsh voice insisted on tui*ning out all our men. I found a 
pompous little surgeon angry and furious. I informed him 
why the men were there, assured him of their perfectly good 
behavior, and requested permission for them to remain, as 
we were momentarily expecting the ambulance. It was all 
in vain. Colonel Dwight himself was treated most harshly, 
although of higher rank than the brute himself, and although 
I told the surgeon that it was a man mortally wounded. He 
ordered the guard to turn them out at the point of the bay- 
onet, and to prevent their retiu-n even to move Colonel 
Dwight, — refusing to tell his rank and even his name, until 
I obtained it of another party. The men ivere driven aivay 
while actually giving water to wounded sufferers who had 
been calling in vain for help. I assured the brute that I 
would take care his conduct was made known, knowing, from 
several opportunities to see that day, that he is, from bru- 
tality, pomposity, and harshness utterly unfit to be in charge 
of wounded men, and from gross disrespect to an officer 
higher in rank, unfit to be in the army.* 



Near Sharpsburo, Md., November 13, 1862. 
Weeks have passed by since I wrote. 1 do not remember 
how many. I know that my last letter was written just after 
the awful day of Antietam, by the dying bed of a heroic sol- 
dier, dying in Christian peace, the memory of whose friend- 

* This fellow's name was said to be " King," — a medical director in Gen- 
eral Reynolds's corps, Pennsylvania Reserves, — too good troops to have 
such a fellow among them. 
19* 



222 THE POTOMAC AND THE IIAPIDAN. 

sliiji is forever sacred to mc. Then followed a sick bed, — 
with the nervous prostration and malarious fever Avhich tlfc 
Rappahannock campaign had originated. Then, as strength 
was gained, there were the meetings with wounded of our 
regiment' at home ; with convalescents, whose highest com- 
fort Avas to drop into our recruiting office ; with some not 
seen since Cedar Mountain, whose grasp of hand was accom- 
panied only by starting tears, as we remembered the gallant 
dead of that mournful day. Alas, for the weeping hearts 
which write the history of this war ! 

If I ever appeared to Avrite cheerlessly, I Inust say that I 
always have written as encouragingly as I could. There is, 
first, the wearing upon personal sympathies. There is, or 
was, next, the knowledge to be uttered only delicately, of 
useless and needless disasters, of a lack of vigor where vigor 
was essential, and of opportunities wasted, of time, means, 
and men thro^vn away. I ^oill tell you now, that many a 
man in this army, in high stations and low, for months 
believed this war to be utterly hopeless except as to the mere 
question of boundaries, and that men high, very high in civil 
life, have privately admitted the same opinion ; and this, not 
from the strength of the South, nor from any inability in the 
nation to restore its authority over every spot in its domain. 
Not that there is the least hesitation as to fighting On, but 
that there is a desire to fight usefully. I am speaking now 
from a tolerably wide knowledge, not from speculation, nor 
from my own purpose. 

But I do not feel, I have never felt, that the war is hope- 
less. I believe, on the contrary, that it never promised as 
well as now. "We have a magnificent army. It is well led. 
It is brave. There is much loss yet to be had, but we can 
succeed. A winter campaign will destroy, by death or dis- 



REMOVAL OF McCLELLAN. 223 

ability, one naif of our niuiibers, but if the country wishes 
the attempt at that cost, the attempt cau be made. I say this, 
notwithstanding two facts which look, to one or another, un- 
promising. 

These two are, first, the result of the recent elections. 
They look as if the war was unpopular. But I do feel con- 
fident that while there are some double-dyed traitors in the 
successful party the great mass is truly loyal. They have 
voted against the administration, because they meant to 
rebuke it. But I am more mistaken than ever before if that 
party as a whole does not demand a vigorous prosecution of 
the war. 

The second is, the removal of Genei'al McClellan. Of 
course, the intimations that the army woiald not fight under 
anybody else, are perfectly foolish. Our men figlit for their 
country^ not for a man. Yet, while I cannot answer for any 
other corps than ours in ours there is a feeling of deep sad- 
ness at the loss of our beloved, oixr trusted leader. I have 
hardly yet seen the man who does not mourn over it, although 
ready to give his successor all their help. Indeed, the new 
commander is personally liked. I remember the cheers with 
which he was greeted the morning after the battle of South 
Mountain, and how the cheers redoubled when General Burn- 
side, after entirely passing the line, stopped to shake hands 
with a wounded soldier hobbling along on crutches. But we 
remember how General McClellan reinspii-ed the shattered, 
despondent troops who were gathered in front of Washing- 
ton, and by the magic of his name and presence made an 
invincible army ; who, instead of remaining in the fortifica- 
tions, boldly assumed the oiFensive ; who inarched onward, 
waiting only to be sure of the enemy's plans, and marched 
to victory ; who, against superior numbers (I say what is 



224 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

true), saved the Nortli at Antietam ; wlio restored the waver- 
ing fight of the right wing ; who infu.sed life wherever he 
went (""who ordered an advance, which he stopped only at the 
urgent request of commanders ; Avho would not throw his 
brave men into a hasty advance and a winter campaign with- 
out suitable clothing.* The soldiers remember these things. 
But they will follow the directions of their leader ; they will 
give all their powers to his successor ; they will imitate the 
patience, the patriotism of their late general, who loves his 
country too well to make his personal position any cause for 
weakening that country's power.f 

But now the army advances. It moves down along the 
side of the mountain ranges, watching the enemy. I regret, 
on some accounts, that I cannot chronicle its movements ; 
but we have no anxious longing to retravel either the east or 
west side of the Blue Ridge. Our own corps is guarding the 

* There has been much discussion as to whether McCIellan ought to 
have attacked the next day after Antietam. I have never believed it was 
prudent, shattered as we were, to risk it. We were terribly cut up. It is 
true the rebels had to retreat across a ford; but that ford was a mile in 
extent, and the water hardly knee deep. We had baffled an exultant foe, 
and saved the North. 

Whether the army should have moved earlier after the rebel retreat, is a 
question. If one knew how poorly provided it was, I think that the ques- 
tion would be answered. I remember that five weeks afterwards our wag- 
ons went to the railway stations day after day for supplies, and unsuccess- 
fully. 

t I should not respect myself if I suppressed this old record of our sad- 
ness at the loss of our general. We loved him. But that love was not in- 
compatible wth the most ardent performance of duty, as the heroic record 
of the Potomac army, and especially our own corps, will testify. The gov- 
ernment has seen that that army was true and obedient. We respected the 
general, but we loved our country more. 

I ask, besides, that it be remembered that love for a leader, as a military 
man, had nothing to do with political views. 



THE HONORED DEAD. 225 

Potomac line, which is necessary, as the enemy hold the 
Virginia valley, and Maryland is therefore exposed to sudden 
raids. Harper's Ferry is thus to be defended, and the river 
lined, np I do not know how far. 

General Gordon has charge of a long stretch of river. 
That is, all the fords are guarded carefully. Our own 
position is at. the main ford hereabouts near Sharpsburg, and 
but a few miles from the old battle-ground, which extends for 
a mile up and down the river. It takes nearly a third of 
our regiment at once to do picket duty. General Gordon's 
care is most active. He knows every part of the line him- 
self for some thirty miles. "We are in General Morell's 
division. 

The excitement of a battle is sublime. But I am not ear- 
nest to see many more for our regiment. I wrote very dole- 
fully last summer because we were likely to see no active 
service. Then immediately came Banks's retreat and a bat- 
tle at Winchester. Then, Cedar Mountain. Then, Antie- 
tam. Ours has made its name honored. It is now ready 
for onward movement, having gone up from less than two 
hundred to six hundred men fit for duty. But battles — ah, a 
sunset finds too many gaps in the line. Such men as Abbott, 
Gary, GoodAvin, Williams, Perkins, Dwight, — dead. And 
now we are sad at the loss of another. Major Savage, who 
died in Virginia, of wounds received at Cedar Mountain. 
An honorable, brave soldier ; refined, gentle, warm-hearted, 
and one of the purest-minded men I ever knew ; an only son, 
whose parents may God bless ! Nobody knew James Savage 
but to respect and love him. 

And such men in the ranks. I miss too long a list to be 
written out, though they deserve it, and some day shall have 
it in permanent form. Men, like one of my Chi-istian breth- 



226 THE POTOMAC AND THE llAPIDAN. 

ren, dying after just time enough to say, " Lord, receive my 
spirit ! " Or, like one dying day before yesterday, a warm- 
hearted Christian, but lately returned from a captivity of 
weary months, long ago freed from the captivity of sin, now 
released from the captivity of the body, into the glorious 
enjoyments of the children of God — of perfectly consistent 
Christian example always, meeting death in peace. ^i 

Brave men. Patriots. Long is the list. And long in many 
another regiment besides ours. 



Near Sharpsburg, Mb., November 21, 1862. 
We have little share in the great movements on which hang 
the destinies of the campaign ; but we watch with intense 
eagerness. With all the affection borne to our late general, 
everybody feels, as that chief himself teaches us to feel, the 
warmest interest in the progress of his successor. With 
success before January, we insure the masses to determined 
measures ; we dispirit the rebels. With defeat, we create a 
party ready to recognize the South ; we encourage the rebels ; 
we give opportunity for foreign meddling. With undecided 
results, we insure a disgraceful compromise, worse than sep- 
aration. Without success in this war the North crumbles 
to pieces. National life is suspended on present issues. 
Often have I thought, in such anxieties, of the remark an 
honored soldier uttered to me — "This nation has forgotten 
God ! " But no. There are too many praying men and 
women to allow us to believe so fatal a statement. But does 
the nation have an adequate conception of the things at 
stake? When a Aveak measure was adopted early in this 
war, that soldier referred to said, " I never felt so sadly but 



PICKET ON THE POTOMAC. 227 

once ; that was when my child died." National destruction 
is a worse personal loss than loss of children ; worse than 
death itself. 

Our work is picket duty. We are in front of a ford, of 
which the water is but knee deep for a mile. It is the ford 
by which the enemy retreated after the battle of Antietam. 
The enemy still hold the valley. If Jackson went southward, 
it was only in a parallel line with our army on the east of 
the Blue Ridge, and he returned. Whether he still remains 
is doubtful, as General Lee Avill need him. But the enemy 
are still opposite us, though rarely showing themselves. A 
fcAv days ago a man who went over for his family was stopped 
by a rebel party just as they were embarking. One man 
took to the water, was wounded, and finally killed. Two 
days ago the deepening twilight brought into view at least a 
mile of camp fires, which were speedily extinguished. Yes- 
terday we heard cannonading half the day, apparently from 
some supposed reconnoissance from Harper's Feriy. The 
ease with which a rebel party could make a raid into Mary- 
land, keeps here a large force ; besides the possibility, now 
growing less, that Jackson might seek to divert troops, by a 
sudden threatening this way, as he succeeded in doing when 
he forced General Banks to retreat from Strasburg. The 
river is not yet raised to any noticeable degree by the light 
rains of this week, but we have not yet heard from the 
mountain regions. It is their waters which swell the Po- 
tomac. 

Our own regiment maintains its morale, notwithstanding 
the loss of its colonel, Andrews,* to the gain of General 
Banks — a modest, unpretending, but wonderfully skilled and 

* Now commander of the Corps d'Afrique, and commandant at Port 
Hudson. 



228 THE POTOMAC AND THE HAPIDAN. 

energetic soldier is our late colonel. He is a graduate of 
AYest Point, avIiosc pupils prove altogether the best soldiers. 
I have been somewhat surprised to see jealousies fostered at 
honie against educated soldiers. I have seen a good many 
of the graduates of our military schools, and from observa- 
tion I have acquired the highest confidence in them. That 
they often feel superior to mere militia officers, is doubtless 
true ; they are superior. That many volunteers feel distressed 
because they recognize their own comparative inferiority, is 
true ; they ought to feel distressed. Educated soldiers are 
as much superior to one beginning without any training, as 
an educated physician is to one who begins practice utterly 
ignorant of anedicine. The latter may learn by years of 
experiment ; so may the raw soldier. But each sacrifices life 
to do it. I could instance slaughters which no educated 
soldier would ever have allowed to occur ; they were the cost 
of teaching raw men. I could point to a brigade uselessly 
sacrificed ; and to our own, saved in similar circumstances, 
by having a soldier for a commander. West Point cannot 
make a soldier out of a blockhead ; but other things being 
equal, its training is invaluable. 

The public press, just now, is speaking of the great 
number of deserters from the army ; and government has, I 
believe, issued stringent orders. The evil is by no means 
magnified. In battles, too, there are many who go to the 
rear. I saw at least thousands at Antietam. Even when 
men carried off the Avounded — which was not their business 
— surgeons kept them from returning ; I saw it. But is 
there not a reason why men do not fear to desert ? I know 
of a case where a man deserted, and was afterwards appre- 
hended, in citizen's clothing, a salesman in a store in New 
Hampshire. He escaped after being taken, but was recap- 



AN AMBULANCE SYSTEM. - 229 

tuved. He was tried and convicted. The sentence was 
entirely I'emitted, because the powers that were could not 
see sufficient evidence of the crime of desertion ! He was 
returned to his regiment, but, before being put to duty, 
deserted again, and was not heard of more. 

Another matter of public interest is the new system of the 
ambulance corps. All ambulances are taken away from the 
regiments, and put under charge of one brigade officer. When 
the sick are to be moved, the surgeon sends a written requi- 
sition for ambulances. The new plan has some merits ; in 
one place, viz., the field of battle. But for regiments, as 
.such, it is exceedingly unpleasant. For instance, on leaving 
a recent camp, ambulances were wanted to transport the 
sick. The ambulances were four miles off. On sending for 
them, they were not to be found. Again, suppose at this 
point the enemy came suddenly, and in such force that it 
were madness to remain. There would be no time to send a 
requisition for ambulances. The sick, in such a case, must 
be left to the enemy. Or, suppose a regiment is ordered 
suddenly to move ten miles on a dangerous service. It has 
no time to get ambtdances. Such occasions I have seen 
repeatedly, when, having ambulances, there was no difficulty. 
It is hard for soldiers to feel, going on such a service, that 
if wounded, there is no way to remove them. The old sys- 
tem of having all ambulances with regiments had evils ; but 
it is just as bad to give them none. The true system would 
be to give a limited number to each regiment, and have a 
general ambulance corps besides for emergencies. 

Let me allude to the matter of gratuitous supplies. Many 

presents sent to soldiers are worse than useless. What a 

soldier needs, as to clothing, is what government gives him, 

only a supply of better flannels and stockings. Now, indis- 

20 



230 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

criminate giving is useless. First, know what a soldier lacks 
before sending anything. Our own regiment is partially, and 
sometimes entirely, supplied Avith under-clothing, by a system- 
atic method of donation. This works well. It saves the sol- 
dier's money, and gives better articles. Such a systematic 
method is good. The Sanitary Commission's attempt to 
make itself the medium of all donations, is absvu'd, although 
that would be better than indiscriminate presents. Whenever 
persons can supply and keep supplied a regiment, let them do it. 
So as to donations of reading matter. If anybody has 
money to give for such purposes, for a particular regiment, 
well, I want to say more on this matter. 



Camp near Sharpsburg, Md., November 28, 1862. 
Matters continue tolerably " quiet on the upper Potomac." 
There is reason to suppose that the ubiquitous Jackson has 
left the valley himself, to assist in the defence of Richmond 
or Fredericksburg. But reconnoissances discover quite a large 
rebel force somewhere near Berry ville, which is about ten 
miles from Charlestown. That force is said to be under 
command of one of the Hills. It is rather difficult to account 
for the fear of Jackson. He has one quality — suddenness 
and rapidity — of high excellence. But in actual fight he has 
never shown great generalship. He was foiled last winter 
by General Lander. With forces quite even, he was beaten 
by acting Brigadier General Kimball in the first Winchester 
battle. With an overwhelming force, he fell upon General 
Banks in May, and utterly failed of his pvirpose — an army 
only one seventh as large holding him at bay for three hours. 
In the return movement, he fled before General Fremont. 



MURDER AND ITS REWARD. 231 

The last battles at Manassas were under General Lee, not 
Jackson. 

I wrote you last week of a murder — mere murder — com- 
mitted on a man trying to get a family out of Virginia. The 
men were actually enticed over by the apparent distress of 
some women, purporting to be refugees ; went over on an 
errand of mercy ; fell into the power of the guerrilla Captain 
Burke, for whose apprehension a reward was once offered. 

The appendix to the affair is a very pretty operation of 
our own commander, Captain Cogswell, with sixty men. 
Ordered to cross in the night, he moved off about nine P. M., 
and by making a cautious, and rather circuitous march, en- 
tered Shepardstown after midnight. The houses wanted were 
easily found and surrounded. In one of them was Captain 
Burke and five of his gang. The captain was dressed and 
armed, and the horses of the party stood saddled. As it 
proved, Burke was to have started on one of his plundering 
expeditions in about an hour. As ours were preparing to 
enter, a man suddenly sprang from a door, and attempted to 
escape. Captain Cogswell ordered him twice or more times 
to surrender, and then told two men to fire. A ball entered 
the heart of the rebel, who, on examination was found to be 
Captain Burke himself. The other five were captured, and 
their horses, arms, and important papers brought away. The 
expedition Avas a perfect success, and Union men in Virginia 
Avill breathe free now this miscreant is gone. 

Captain Cogswell, with the same men and some cavalry, 
was sent again the day following, in broad daylight. They 
crossed and occupied the town before the people had any sus- 
picion of the approach. They arrested the man they Avished 
for, paroled three officers and twenty privates in hospital, took 
some arms, and returned in perfect safety. The rebels in that 



232 THE rOTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

neigliborhoocl express no very kind feeling toward the Sec- 
ond Massacliusetts. They vow vengeance ; but our means 
of defence at the river are such that our men would hail a 
brush for amusement. 

On that night, while our men were descending the valley, 
another man, in our hospital, was entering the valley — the 
valley of the shadow of death. From his bedside I hearcJBJ 
the tread of our men. As they were crossing the river, he 
Avas crossing the river — the final river. As they landed, he 
died. They were victorious. Trust in God that he was. 

Yesterday was Thanksgiving day. The weather Avas 
lovely. The air was mild. In sight of the river, almost 
hearing its ripple (we do hear it at night as we lay awake, 
and our men hear it as they pace its shore all through the 
darkness) , we had our public services ; our old New England 
singing ; our prayers. How many of us kept home in mind 
all day ! How many at home were praying for us ! The 
preacher told them that what Avas a crime at home, A\^as a 
ci'ime here ; Avhat they Avould be ashamed of in their homes, 
they shovild be ashamed of here ; AAdiat they Avould not do at 
home Avith their good mother's knoAvledge, they should not 
do here ; Avhat they had been taught of truth at home, Avas 
truth here. 

Then the men had their quoits and ball. Some tried the 
speed of their horses. All — I hope — had their good din- 
ner ; the turkeys, the geese, the chickens, the plum puddings, 
were many. Our hospital inmates all had such peculiar 
luxuries as Avould not injure them. The officers dined to- 
gether ; and as at home, members of families return to their old 
hearthstones on Thanksgiving day, so yesterday there came 
back to us all the officers in our vicinity Avho had gone from 
us into other commands — back to the good old regiment, 



THE PROCLAMATION. 233 

■whose men have been tried in the furnace of fire, and stood 
by one another like true comrades. Among officers and men 
were many who had felt the bullet, and a multitude more who 
had had them in their garments. Many were not there. It 
Avas like the vacant chairs in a household — to think of the 
departed heroes. 

In the morning we had visitors. They Avere ladies, part 
of whom had come from Chambersburg, Pa., thirty-five miles 
off", to bring some gifts for our hospital ; some home bread, 
fruits, butter, jelly, pillows, and other needed articles. " Ver- 
ily, verily, I say unto you, they have their reward." 

In the midst of the merriment in the evening a sick man 
was dying. Some relatives were by his bed ; so was a good 
man, whom I found bending over him, and commending him 
to God. Soon he passed away. " I wanted to go home be- 
fore I died," said he, " but I hope I am going to a better 
home." These were his last audible Avords. " Home." 
How every sick man's heart groAvs sicker because he Avants 
to be at home. It is the hardest feature in a soldier's life. 
But when the surgeons are anxious to send a man home, in 
cases Avhere home Avould saA^e his life, it takes so long to pi"e- 
vail upon higher officials somcAA^here to sign the papers, that 
the favorable time often passes. But the home above is 
ahvays ready. 

I have said nothing yet on the Proclamation. I preferred 
to Avait. At home I did not hesitate to praise it, in the soli- 
tary half day I had strength enough to occupy my oAvn pulpit ; 
nor to denounce the infamous utterance of an infernal press, 
Avhose gi'eat comfort Avas that slavery would be preserved 
whether the Union was restored or broken. 

I have taken some pains to see the effect of the Proclama- 
tion upon the army. A few, very few, are distressed about 
20* 



234 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN, 

it. They love slavery. They admit, upon questioning, that 
they deem servitude the proper condition of the " inferior " 
race. But the number is incomparably less than a year ago. 
One year has brought about an immense change of opinion 
as to the character of slavery and the ci-vilization of slave- 
holders. 

Many like the Proclamation on the grounds of decided 
opposition to all slavery. They receive it as a matter of 
justice. 

The great bulk of the army, however, look at it only in the 
light of a military measure, and feel no excited interest in it 
whatever. They regard it as perfectly within the power of 
the President as commander-in-chief of the armies, while 
most would dissent from his right to issue such a decree as a 
civil magistrate. As a military measure, they believe it 
proper and needful. But it is no new thing in practice. We 
have been freeing the slaves in a rebellious State these nine 
months. We never think of retui'ning a fugitive. A slave- 
hunter would be kicked out of our lines. Contrabands are 
everywhere, in public service and in private, and are treated 
as other men are. The Proclamation only enlarges what we 
have been doing this long Avhile ; and therefore creates far 
less talk than it does at home. 

The army, moreover, is in a different state of discipline 
from what it was at the beginning of the war. When it was 
what Governor Andrew felicitously called a " collection of 
town meetings," such a measure might have made great 
trouble. Now the army is under control. It understands 
obedience to be its duty. Its work is to fight, and not discuss ; 
hence it gives such a measure much less consideration than it 
would once. 

Again, we have become accustomed to seizure of blacks on 



SLAVE PROPERTY. 235 

llic other side. When Jackson came to Winchester last May, 
he seized all blacks, free and slave, except some belonging to 
rebels there. When he went soiTthward he swept the country 
clear, carrying many freemen into slavery. When the rebel 
army captured Harper's Ferry it seized all blacks, and they 
are still in the hands of the men-stealcrs southward. Nor 
do we foi'get that the blacks who drove the ambulances when 
the wounded were gathered in under a flag of truce after the 
late Manassas battles, were seized and carried away. South- 
ei'ners steal negroes whenever they have an opportunity ; 
steal them tQ,make them slaves. Are Ave to regard their 
slave property as sacred? 

Nor can we distinguish between seizing slave property as 
property and seizing Avheat. Whatever the rebels have that 
we want, government takes. We are not worshippers of 
slavery, and we can see no more harm in taking slave prop- 
erty than the products of slave labor. It is all one. If the 
constitution gives no right to touch slave property, no more 
does it to touch the wheat the slaves raise. If the right is a 
military one to take wheat, we cannot see why it is not the 
same to take slaves. Those who can find nothing of such a 
power in the constitution, remind us of the man who said, 
" As to liquor, give me Avhiskey-punch ; other liquors are 
forbidden, but there is not a single word in the Bible against 
whiskey-punch ! " 

Nor do we relish the statements which come to us from 
Richmond, how the rebels everywhere impress slaves to build 
fortifications. Have we got to encounter those fortifications? 
Has Northern blood got to floAv because of those fortifications ? 
Have Northern fathers and mothers to believe that the work 
Avhich slaughters their sons, is a labor not to be meddled 
with ? We do not see it so. 



236 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

I met a rebel officer once who spoke of slavery. "You 
thought," said he, " that slavery made us weak. You are 
mistaken. It doubles the number of guns we can put into the 
field." I thought over it, and I believed him. I saw, one 
day, as noble a regiment as ever was raised, go into action 
full of genuine men. The best blood of Massachusetts was 
there. Two days after, I buried its dead. Shorn of one 
thii'd of its nvimber^ was the regiment. Lying on the 
field were the pride of their homes. Men of education, char- 
acter, ability, industry. Apart entirely from the fact that 
but for slavery there would have been no war, slavery doubled 
the guns against them. Fathers and mothers, of every two 
guns levelled at your sons slavery fired one. I lifted your 
sons ; some to bury, some to send home. It was slavery that 
killed them all. 

I saw, on another day, that same regiment undaunted in 
the fiercest battle of this continent. One fourth of its number 
came not out. Its good men, how they fell. One of the 
noblest, who cared not for his life if victoiy was ours, had 
come to hate slavery as I do. Of every two guns at Antietam, 
slavery fired one. I saw countless bleeding men there. 
Slavery wounded them. I saw countless maimed men. 
Slavery maimed them. I saw countless dead there. Slavery 
killed them. 

The product of slave labor doubles every gun the South 
could without it put into the field. To sustain slavery the 
South keeps both guns there — without slavery they could 
keep none there. And shall any man tell me that the system 
which killed these gallant comrades is one whose continuance, 
it is his comfort, is sure, whether we succeed before January 
first, or whether we fail finally, and I not loathe him as I 
would a snake ? Is Massachusetts svmk so low as to breed 
such reptiles ? 



A VIRGINIA SCHOOLMA'AM. 237 

Therefore, as the South has made slavery the great tost, 
the great object of this war, — as the only grievance of which 
the South complained was interference with slavery ; as they 
call us all abolitionists ; Ave say let that be the test. 

I hope and believe that the President will stand by his Proc- 
lamation. We never had a doubt of his honesty, his patriot- 
ism, his conscientious firmness. He will be sustained. The 
country will sustain. God will help him. 

That it will have no effect is absurd. That the slaves will 
not hear of it is absurd. That the blacks will rush North is 
absurd. That the South has feared it as the hardest blow, 
Southerners have repeatedly told me. 

It is a right step. There is but one more, — universal eman- 
cipation. I have now but one article of faith on this point : 
no man can own another ; no, not for a moment. All laws 
saying he can, are, of right, void. It is only a questiQp of 
the best way now to treat them as void. But void they are, 
and cursed with a curse. This is the simple platform on 
which every man can stand : No man can own another. 

As to this matter of slavery and the Bible, I am reminded 
of a conversation I once had with a Virginia schoolma'am. 
She was not of the kind they put in jail ; she taught only 
white children. She was sound, very sound, and a real 
hearty, solid Presbyterian, and of a " certain age." But I 
offended her terribly. 

She attacked me several times quite ferociously. It was a 
great comfort to her that I had voted against father Abraham, 
but she concluded I had " fallen from grace." 

" Now," said she, one day, " you abolitionists reject the 
Bible." 

" Not by any means ! " said I, with great horror. 

" What if the Bible authorized us to hold slaves, wouldn't 
you reject the Bible ? " 






238 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPllJAN. 

" No, ma'am ! God can authorize it if he chooses," said I. 

" AYell, then," said she, exultingly, " I can convince you itM 
is right for us to hold slaves." ■ 

" Go on," I replied, " and I'll give it up if you bring 
Scripture fairly to prove it." 

She got her Bible, and turned instantly, just as if she hai 
read that place a good deal, to Leviticus xxv. 46., and with 
forefinger extended, read triumphantly, " They shall be your 
bondmen forever." " They shall be your bondmen forever ! " 

" There," said she, " does not that settle the question?" 

" What question? " I asked innocently. 

" Why, that we have a right to hold slaves." 

" Well, not quite," said I. " First of all, who are ' they ' ? " 

" The heathen," said she, after reading a little, say the 
44th verse. 

" X^orrect ; but ' thy brother ' ' waxen poor,' it says, shall be 
' as a hired servant,' and shall be free when the jubilee year 
comes. That's Scripture, isn't it? " 

" Ye-e-s," was the rather reluctant reply. 

" But you have been telling me that the slaves are better 
off because many of them are converted. You don't think it 
right, according to Scripture, to keep them as slaves? " 

She was nonplussed. But still, — 

" Well, those not Christians we have a right to hold," said 
she. 

"Why so?" 

" They shall be your bondmen forever ! " 

" You remind me," said I, " of the old schoolboy way of 
proving the duty of hanging one's self, by quoting ' Judas 
went and hanged himself,' with ' Go thou and do likewise.' " 

Whereat the schoolma'am waxed wroth. 

" This applies to the subject directly," said she. 



A VIRGINIA SCHOOLMA'AM. 239 

"What subject?" 

" It proves that it is right to hold slaves." 

" Right for whom to hold slaves ? " 

" Why, for anybody." 

" Not at all, madam. If it proves anything, it proves it 
was the privilege of the Jeivs. Are you a Jew? " 

She was vexed. 

" If it was right for the Jews, it is right for ns," she said. 

"I don't see that," said I. " I admit that God could au- 
thorize certain parties to hold slaves ; but it does not follow 
that others not so authorized have a right to do it. The priv- 
ilege is limited by the special permission, because contrary 
to natural right. ShoAv me a provision anywhere from God 
authorizing the South to do it, and I Avill submit ; but I want 
the documents ! " 

She began to think I Avas an infidel. But I pacified her 
by insisting that I believed in the five points of Calvinism 
clear through. 

Then she laid down again the general principle that what 
was right for the Jews is right for us. 

" Very well," said I, " Abraham was ordered to sacrifice 
his only sou. Do you believe it is everybody's duty or priv- 
ilege now ? " 

She did not ; but that was a peculiar and single case. 

" Very Avell," said I ; " take a general case. Jewish men 
had several Avives apiece. Am I to understand that you ad- 
vocate that arrangement now ? Or, is it your idea that slavery 
is called a ' patriarchal system ' because it comes as near to 
this arrangement as possible, if I may judge from the color of 
the slaves hereabouts ? " 

The indignant schoolma'ara Avas filled Avith AA^rath, and I 
have not dared to argue Avith a Avomau ever since. 



240 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE FREDERICKSBURG WINTER. 

Near Sharpsbueg, Md., December 5, 1862. 

" All quiet on the Upper Potomac." Two rebel brigades 
at Winchester. Constant reconnoissances from Harper's Fer- 
ry, and more noise about them than is profitable. Waiting 
for news from Fredericksburg, where the remarkable rapidity 
of advance shows some hidden strategy. 

So we read the President's message, and ponder over it. 
And the secretaries' reports, and ponder over them. 

Of the President's message, I am puzzled to say what im- 
pression it makes. Its honesty, its earnestness, strike us at 
once. Renewed and strong determination that the South 
must and shall be conquered, would have suited well, I think. 
Of the matter of " compensated emancipation," I believe 
nobody cares. Our way would be to carry out the proclama- 
tion by force of arms ; hang all men at home who dared to 
proceed to " give aid or comfort to the enemy ; " and reply to 
any rebellious cities of Northern rowdies by infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery. 

But it is a delicate matter to discuss a President's mes- 
sage, — especially as our assistant surgeon was " dismissed," 
according to the papers, for " absence without leave," whereas 
he was not absent a day without leave, although for weeks 



THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 241 

prostrated by malarious fever, and placed in charge of a sur- 
gical ward at Washington while hardly able to walk, — and 
another officer was " dismissed " after he was dead. 

I began, in former pages, to say something about gifts for 
the religious and moral improvement of the army, and for 
general reading. I feel impressed with the need of some 
public utterance, in view of the sums which the large-hearted 
friends of soldiers are making. It is due to them that they 
should be informed of the best methods. They are not alone 
in this benevolence. I have in my possession a little reli- 
gious tract, one of a series printed at the South for distribu- 
tion in the rebel army. I remember also seeing, the morning 
after the battle of South Mountain, a large number of Testa- 
ments which had been taken from the bodies of killed or 
Avounded at the rebel roadside hospital, with letters and other 
papers. So far as I can learn, the Southern army is quite 
well supplied with chaplains ; nor has their congress cut down 
their pay to so low a rate (as ours has) that no man from an 
expensive place of residence can support his family upon it. 

Of all the organizations which minister to the comfort of the 
soldier, the Sanitary Commission is, beyond all comparison, 
the most useful. I think I could point out some evils con- 
nected with it : I think it has some defects in itself. But it 
has done, it is doing, a vast amount of good. The expense 
is great, the waste considerable ; but the work is gi'eat, and 
would not otherwise be done at all. Its facilities for forward- 
ing supplies instantly in the emergency, as after the battle of 
Antietam, form its great excellence in my opinion. Govern- 
ment could furnish the same necessaries, but while requisitions 
were going the round of the circumlocution office, a thousand 
men might die. Government is not much to blame for such 
slowness : for, a certain amount of formalities is essential to 
21 



242 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

a proper regulation of expenditures. The Sanitary Commis- 
sion is bound by no such official rovttine, inasmuch as its 
business is in one board, able to act instantly. Of the dona- 
tions of the Commission I have seen but little indeed. But 
the character of the men constituting it is a perfect guar- 
antee of integrity. 

The recent recommendations of the Commission, as to the 
sending of articles direct to soldiers, are in the main good. 
They make the exception of such articles as can be sent by 
mail, which is also good. Socks, and even boots, come 
through our mail. When our first colonel was applied to by 
a benevolent association in Boston and vicinity for informa- 
tion as to the best articles to send to soldiers, he replied, 
" The same things that government furnishes, only of better 
quality." All such save the cost to the soldiers. Our reg- 
iment is very generally supplied in this way, with excellent 
eftect. Care is taken to have the boxes sent only when and 
where Ave are likely to be stationary. A bright official at 
Hagerstown, indeed, stopped a box of clothing the other day, 
on the ground of its suspicious appearance, not opening it, 
but keeping it back for days. It is seldom, however, there 
are such fools as officials, and such matters come safely. To 
recommendations to make the Sanitary Commission the sole 
medium of donations, I advise our friends to pay no atten- 
tion. The society for the Relief of Massachusetts Soldiers, 
located at "Washington, is a specialty worthy of support. - 

As to other departments of general benevolence, it is a^ ' 
little unfortunate, in some respects, that there is a multiplicity 
of organizations doing substantially the same work. The 
Christian Commission and the Tract societies occur to me,j 
besides some minor agencies. The diffi3rent mediums must) 
of course distract attention in some places. But as they 



A CHAPLAIN'S DUTIES. 243 

probably operate on diifereut fields, aud so differ in some 
particulars of working, perhaps they will not interfere with 
each other ; and some ground may be occupied which would 
otherwise be neglected. 

It is to be remembered that chaplains are the author- 
ized ofiicers charged by government with care for the 
religious and moral condition of regiments. For post-hos- 
pitals, other chaplains are appointed specially. There remain, 
therefore, only the temporary assemblages of sick and 
wounded after a battle. Even these are cared for by reg- 
imental chaplains, except when the forces move on, in which 
case voluntary effort like that of the Christian Commission 
in its plans (if I understand their plans) is invaluable. Even 
then, one or two workers, remaining while the temporary 
hospital remains, are better far than twenty men volunteering 
for a week or two, to be replaced then by twenty more. 
There is everything in having a system in such a place ; in 
knowing the entire ground, and arranging accordingly. If gov- 
ernment had extra chaplains — as they have surgeons — to be 
detailed for such special duty, it would be a far better plan 
than any voluntary organization can supply. Until they do, 
the efforts of outside friends are at such times indispensable. 

Beyond such extraordinary emergencies, there are some 
regiments without chaplains, the number of which is, in our 
vicinity, diminishing. 

But wherever there are chaplains, it should be always 
remembered that the work is in their care, however great it 
may be. They will always welcome all suitable help ; but 
for others to attempt to do their work, is an irregularity which 
would prove disastrous. In a well-regulated regiment, it 
would not be allowed ; no more than to allow voluntary sur- 
geons to prescribe to the sick. If a chaplain tries to do his 



244 THE FOTOMAC AJSU THE RAPIDAN. 

duty, he Avill be glad of all help in a legitimate way. If 
he does not try to do his duty, there is ample field for 
usefulness in interesting him in his duty. If I remem- 
ber correctly, Dr. Nettleton once dii-ected a person who 
came from a particular parish for spiritual advice, to go 
to his own minister, notwithstanding the fact that that min- 
ister was uninterested in such cases. The doctor judged that 
svich a call wovild interest the pastor. The minister was 
aroused, and with him his whole church ; and vastly more 
good was accomplished than if Dr. Nettleton had tried to do 
the pastor's work. If a man wants to work a mill, he Avill 
do rather better to put water in the boiler, and fire in the 
furnace, than try to Avork the crank himself. A systematic, 
kindly visitation of chaplains by a Christian Commission 
woidd be a capital plan. The idea is novel ; but don't start 
another society to do it. Come, agents of some old one, and 
we will be delighted. Come, see just what" we need, — 
as the agents of the Sanitary Commission do in the sister 
work, — whose ministrations have saved many a life. Come, 
and we will tell you what we do and how we do it, and how 
we are crippled for want of help. Employ some minister of 
experience, and ripe, genial piety, and send him to visit, in a 
brotherly way, every chaplain in some one corps ; to see his 
privations, perhaps, and cheer him Avith Christian fellowship. 
Gifts — we come to that — are sometimes useless. I have 
before me a lot of tracts addressed to sellers of ardent spirits ; 
that business is not carried on by our men. I have had a 
quantity addressed to distillers ; but we have no distillers. And 
tracts to Sunday school children on their behavior in Sunday 
school ; which is of another meridian. And tracts to Sunday 
school teachers on the preparation of their lessons, or how to 
greet their classes, and on visiting their pupils ; which is a 



INAPPROPRIATE READING. 245 

M'ork adapted to places where there are children. And tracts 
on dancing ; a fault to which there is little liability, — as I re- 
member but one instance, and was glad when that took place, 
— on the ground, closing at tattoo. I could multiply the list, 
but you have specimens. What do we want of the unsalable 
lumber taken from cobwebbed shelves of some institution glad 
to be rid of it — but reckoning it at the usual price in their 
demands for more contributions ? Or of bundles of worn out 
Sunday school books ? Or of piles of volumes of some Chris- 
tian truth adapted to certain states of mind, of which ten cop- 
ies are enough for a year? Or of tracts attacking Cathol- 
icism, to distribute which, even by chance, would effectually 
destroy all influence with many men, even if a chaplain was 
fool enough to suppose it his business to try to make Protes- 
tants — which tracts I have carefully put into the fire. 

Again, many bundles of good reading are mere heaps of 
duplicates of what has already been widely circulated. Soci- 
eties cannot tell what has been distributed, and they glut the 
market with some particular work. Or volumes come, to be 
thrown away the first march. 

Or works which excite only ridicule. For instance, here 
is a little book entitled " Valuable Hints to Soldiers." It tells 
what a soldier needs : A " Bible " — no, he doesn't ; he needs 

a Testament. A " cheap portfolio of ; " won't any 

other maker's portfolio do as well? " A filter ; " of which he 
disengages the tube to smoke through. " Three flannel un- 
dershirts, ditto shirts, ditto drawers, four or five pairs of 
woollen socks ! " I wish the man who wrote this had to 
inarch the miles our men have, with such a load on his back. 
Then it tells us that the soldier " should never sleep at night 
in the flannel shirt, draAvers, or socks worn during the day." 
How, when off on picket duty, one night in two or three? 
21 * 



246 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAX. 

How, when at the close of a march he is too tired to do 
anything ? " No one should on any account be in wet cloth- 
ing." Suppose he bivouacs in the rain, as we have over an< 
over again ? Suppose he changes, and gets out again iinmi 
diately? "Blankets must be aired in the moi*ning." Oi 
course, when up before daylight to march on, with just time'' 
enough to pack one's knapsack. " Soup may be omitted at 
one dinner, and beef at another." How many courses do 
soldiers have ? They are glad enough to get one article, even 
if they get down to green corn, as we all did on the Rap- 
pahannock. " Never be afraid' of good beef." No, nor of 
turtle-soup or blanc mange. " An entire meal should never 
be made of beans." What ivill he eat then, when beans are 
the only dish. In certain cases "increasing" the quantity 
" of vegetables." He canH increase it, especially as two 
thirds of the time in marching he does not have any. Sol- 
diers laugh at such directions. It may be a very good 
book, but it doesn't suit the latitude of a regiment that has 
been out a year and a half. 

Men have an affection for particular publications some- 
times. I gave an almanac once to one of our officers. He 
kept it a while, but afterwards told me that it did not seem 
" quite natural." So I gave him the other one, " the Fam- 
ily Christian Almanac." " Ah," said he, after looking at it, 
" this is the one. This is the kind my mother used to read 
me the stories frorn every Sunday, when I was a boy." And 
he kept that for many a long mile. 

Now, when people have money they wish to pay for read- 
ing matter to be sent to a regiment, the best thing to do is 
this : Write to the chaplain first. Tell him how much 
money you will spend. If you wish it to go to any particular 
publishing house, tell him so, and send the catalogue of their 



I 



HOW TO _S£ND TO THE ARMY. 247 

publications. Ask him to say if he has any choice ; what he 
can use to the best advantage. You will thereby avoid send- 
ing useless matter or heaps of works already distributed. If 
you have a particular fancy for sending some one book, men- 
tion it. The chaplain will be glad enough to reply. Then 
send the publications — paying express charges, in which, 
from an expensive experience, I have a feeling interest. And 
remember that some of the best minds of the whole land are 
in the army; that there are educated men in the ranks as 
privates ; that soldiers are men of common sense. In read- 
ing some of the books got up for soldiers, I am reminded of a 
good brother, who, happening to preach at the Mai'iner's 
Church in Boston, got along very well, until, in describing a 
storm in the middle of the Atlantic, asked, when attention 
was intent, "What would you do?" and himself replied, 
" You'd instantly let go the anchor ! " Just as many occa- 
sional preachers think they must " talk sailor " to sailors, so 
many writers "talk soldier" to soldiers, with as much ac- 
curacy as letting go the anchor ■where the water is any num- 
ber of mUes deep. I am aware that I didn't know an 
adjutant from a company cook eighteen months ago, l)ut the 
books are just as ridiculous where men do know ; just as that 
most excellent book, the " Life of Adjutant Stearns," which 
I have read with the deepest liking, has one rank for him in 
the volume, and another on the shoulder-straps in the like- 
ness, — a very slight matter in a volume of such touching 
interest, and so admirably wi'itten. Such a book soldiers 
will read.* 

If any one wants to feel sm-e that what he gives for 
reading will be used, let him subscribe for such number as he 

* Of later publications, there is one, the most touching, most beautiful 
little book possible. It is " The Sergeant's Memorial." 



248 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

pleases of some good religious newspaper, which he canfl 
usually get at half the usual rates, and have the copies mailed 
dii'eet to the chaplain for distribution. These will be read 
eagerly. For myself, I never have a quarter enough. "With 
the Christian Banner, I never get over one third through the 
regiment. I have had copies of various papers, religious and 
secular ; some donors have become weary in well doing, for 
which I am sorry. It is the readiest and steadiest way of 
supplying good reading matter. 



i 



Fairfax Station, Va., December 15, 1862. 

Suddenly we were turned out of our anticipated quarters. 
We were tumbled into the " winter campaign." We did not 
know of the movements on the Rappahannock, but we were 
modestly satisfied that if anything was to be accomplished 
they would want us. 

We had built huts. Some had log-houses. The surgeon 
and myself were building an elegant log-cottage. We were 
satisfied that the capacities of logs for oi-namental building 
had not been developed, and we intended a model. Our logs 
were straight. They lay close. The corners went up verti- 
cally. We had the foundation of an elegant stone fireplace, 
— already having a brick one. 

But on Tuesday afternoon orders came. So on Wednes- 
day morning we started. Our house was left. For no fault ; 
the owner, being about to leave town, had no further use for 
it. Camp was hardly left, when the place swarmed with 
people to search for goods. A deserted camp is wealth to 
many a Marylander. 

We were ordered to be at Antietam Iron Works at nine 



WINTER CAMPAIGNING. 249 

A. M., a mile and a half from camp. We were there ten 
minutes early. At fifteen minutes past, sm orderly came with 
a document certifying that we need not be at the iron works 
until noon, — which was very comforting, considering that we 
were there, and had only three hours to wait on a cold morn- 
ing. The change was made — too late — because other regi- 
ments had miles to move, and the Third "Wisconsin had not 
had orders at all at nine o'clock. Was the fact kno^vn the 
night before — that the other regiments could not possibly be 
there until twelve M. ? Of course, but what matters it that the 
soldiers must have reveille at four A. M., leave a comfortable 
camp in winter, and lay three hours uselessly in the road ? 

Twelve o'clock came, and one, and half-past one ; and then 
we moved on. We had studied the history of the dilapidated 
iron works, — disused four or five years since, — whose pig- 
iron, accumulating at Harper's Ferry, had repaired the ford 
there. We had inspected a capital stone bridge, and an 
arched channel for the canal. And the men snow-balled. 

About five P. M. we went into a light Avood about five miles 
from Harper's Fei'ry for a bivouac ; built our fires ; made ex- 
cellent t)eds by piling on the snow some cornstalks, and topping 
off" with pine branches ; and, Avrapped in blankets, slept well. 

Reveille at half past three, to start at five. Orders came 
at half past six. What mattered it that we were deprived 
of an hour and a half's sleep, uselessly? 

The horses slipped badly on the icy roads, and we had to 
" wait for the wagon." Early we were at Harper's Ferry, 
and crossed into Virginia for the fourth time. Three times 
driven out — the fourth should be a better advance. The 
pontoons passed over the Potomac, and over the Shenandoah, 
into Loudon county, round the base of Loudon Heights, up 
the hill skirting the eastern side of the heights, and resting 



250 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

in a field whose fences fell suddenly. Out came the owner ; 
he tried to stop it, but in vain. Then he came to the com- 
mander : " Your men are taking my fences." " Yes." " Isn't 
it hard," said he, excitedly, "for me to lose my fences?" 
" Yes," said our sensible commander, " but it would be a 
good deal harder for my men to be cold. Government will 
pay you." 

So we Avaited five or six hours. Then we were ordered to 
move, — which resulted in several rods. Then a halt of 
half an hour, in the road, waiting for orders, which started 
several regiments but did not reach the regiment next before 
us. That regiment finally started without orders, and as our 
business was to follow them, Ave folloAved. Soon it was dark, 
but Ave kept on — on — through half frozen brooks, half 
frozen mud, over rocks and ruts, for several hours of dark- 
ness, and then bivouacked. We had very gloomy vicAvs of 
public affairs, until after supper, Avhen, Avith good fires, we 
became altogether more hopeful. Orion Avatched us going 
to sleep. Wliat mattered it that we had Avaited hours in the 
middle of the day, and stumbled on in the darkness ? 

Reveille at three A. M. ; to be ready to move at half past 
four. "We were ready, and of course waited imtil half past 
one. Then, orders to fall in ; in less than five minutes, 
orders not to fall in ; in five minutes more, orders again to 
fall in, — Avhereupou our commander sent a lieutenant to 
ascertain AAdiich order was tlie one ; " the last," and Ave Avent 
on. We had Avaited because " the brigade train was not 
up ; " but ours was up close, and the man responsible for the 
other ought to be broke, — only, what matters it that soldiers 
are up at three A. M., and wait ten hours needlessly? 

Through the pretty little stone-built hamlet of Hillsborough, 
which is beautifully located in a cleft of the " Short Hills,'* 



WINTER CAMPAIGNING. 251 

and a mile on. Then, some guerillas, only half an hour 
before we reached that point, had daringly captured a wagon. 
A party of cavalry trotted off and recaptured it, and we went 
on, having waited only two hours, which would take three 
of horrible stumbling with sore-footed men over a wet, rocky 
road at night. Three miles from Leesburg we bivouacked, 
on the western slope of the Kittoctan. What mattered it 
that two hours of daylight had been wasted ? 

The first day we had made six miles ; the second, fourteen 
and a half ; the third, ten and a half. 

The fourth day reveille at four ; to start at half past 
five. At half past, a message not to fall in immediately, 
as the brigade would not start as early as expected. The 
orderly could not help smiling, respectfully, as he delivered 
the order, We did start, to our astonishment, at half past 
six ; climbed the Kittoctans, Avound round the height still 
crowned with a former rebel earthwork, passed through the 
shabby Leesburg, — which has one pretty house, Avhich I 
thought I recognized as copied from a plan and view in 
Godey's Ladies' Book ; saw lots of fellows who we knew 
would mount as guerrillas as soon as Ave Avere gone ; and 
reached Gum Spring, a " shoddy" A'illage of nine houses, a 
spring (whether " gum" or not I don't knoAv), and a churcli, 
probably Dunker, Tunker, Dunkard, or Tunkard, Avhether 
these names denote one, tAA^o, three, or four denominations, I 
; don't know ; reached the turnpike to Fairfax — turned into a 
wood ; found a good wood ; discovered stkaav, and had glo- 
rious beds in front of splendid log fires ; having accom- 
plished seventeen miles and a half. Wagons attacked in the 
rear ; guerillas beaten off. 

Reveille at four o'clock, to start at five. Fancy our intense 
astonishment Avhen Ave found that the foremost regiment 



252 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

actually took the road at that hour ! It seemed like the old 
times when our own Brigadier-General Gordon (now sick) 
Avas with us. Trains were up also, — Avhich reminded us 
of the same commander, who would have dressed down 
somebody handsomely for such delays and hitches as hae 
disgusted us for the several days gone, — only such delays 
don't often occur where he is. Nor will we be bored by the 
yellings of some of our neighbors when he gets back. 

Next day was pleasant. Indeed all were good marching* 
days, if decently used. Saturday threatened to be wet, but 
the storm was " postponed on account of the Aveather." Sun- 
day morning we overtook the bulk of the corps, which had 
a day's start of us, and we entered Fairfax (Court-House) in 
the afternoon. There we learned, indefinitely, of the fight 
at Fredericksburg. But no newspapers, no really satisfying 
news. 

Fairfax is in a terribly injured condition. Roads cut up. 
Ditches everywhere. We left it, over a most horrible cordu- 
roy road, for Fairfax Station, five miles away. That road I 
traversed, with sick, last summer, when it Avas a smooth, Avell- 
fenced, well-shaded, pretty road. Now it is a corduroy, 
fences gone, wood cut down. Only one fence remains -7- that 
around a graveyard, which stands entire, though large armies 
have camped all around and passed on. Near Fairfax Sta- 
tion we bivouacked in a pine wood, where trees are lying in 
every direction, utterly defying order. And we sleep very 
sound. Rations are, however, given out at night, which were 
needed. Before leaving Sharpsburg, there had actually been 
delivered flour ^ for a march ! It reminded us of the night 
before the battle of Antietam, when for the first time for a 
long while the coffee was sent to us in the berry, to men with- 
out the possibility of burning and grinding it, and who were 



THE AMBULANCE SYSTEM. 253 

to go into battle next morning. On this march, too, we had 
to pick up forage for horses as best we coukl, although en- 
titled to a supply. It is not strange, of course, on a march, 
and nobody could complain. It was Avorse when, in camp, 
receipts had to be given for two hundred and five pounds, 
while the actual weight was one hundred and sixty. Don't 
think I blame the government for such hitches — as to flour, 
coffee, or forage ; there never was a government which lav- 
ished so much on its armies, or which was more ready to 
punish fraud or incompetency ; but some of its intermediate 
officials are — well, not angels. 

We had a new illustration, in this movement, of the friction 
of the new ambulance arrangement. It was necessary to 
* send all the sick to the Smoketown hospital before starting. 
The senior medical officer of the brigade made a requisition 
for ambulances. It was not answered until next day. Men 
got sick on the road ; we had one ; no ambulances within 
nine miles. Om* surgeon had to put him in a house and leave 
him, but he was, fortunately, brought on afterwards. The 
officer in charge of the brigade ambulance train is under 
nobody's orders except the medical director. Our medical 
dii-ector at Sharpsbiu'g was eleven miles off. Have a brigade 
train, but let the regiments have each three or four ambu- 
lances, subject to the colonel's orders, in care of the surgeon. 
On the march of Saturday they had to come down a little, 
and gave each regiment one.* 

There is fault in some hospitals, I know, for I have visited 
them much, and have acted as chaplain temporarily by request 
of a major-general. I know that coffee (Avithout milk) and 
bread for breakfast ; bread, boiled potatoes, and boiled meat 

* Time remedied the friction of the new system. It soon came to work 
well, with some modifications. 

22 



254 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

meat for dinner ; and coffee and bread for supper, are not pre- 
cisely the suitable diet for men just able to sit up ; particular- 
ly when government allows most liberally for support — means 
to purchase milk, eggs, chickens, &c., being at hand, besides 
such portions of the army ration as may be asked for — rice, 
molasses, vegetables, &c. I was told, a day or two since, by 
a chaplain of high character, of a hospital he had often vis- 
ited lately, for which chickens and the like are paid for by 
government, but he could never find a patient who had seen 
them. 

The root of the evil is the "military command" of those 
in charge. Sick men should be treated as such in hospitals, 
not as mere soldiers.* 

I am afraid I am grumbling, but I do not mean to. Indeed, • 
I presume that the majority of the hospitals are well man- 
aged. I have seen most excellent ones. At Frederick, the 
one organized by our present surgeon was admirably con- 
ducted. But at Sharpsburg, the surgeon in charge (whether 
subordinate or not I don't know) of one building showed him- 
self a pig, and a brutal pig at that. A fierce " I order ! " 
was his natural grunt. He absolutely refused a sick man, left 
there one night by his comrades through mistake, bed, supper, 
breakfast, nurse, or medicines, though entreated by a surgeon 
who had a heart — the man being low with typhoid fever. 
But such swine are rare ; I never saw but one who was his 
equal — the pompous pig at Antietam. 

Still on our march. 

* The Austrian system of putting the military charge of hospitals into tB 
hands of a military officer, and giving the surgeon only his proper work, has,'' 
I think, been tried. I know that many surgeons desired it. It relieves the 
evil of making the medical attendant a military commander. 




WINTER CAMPAIGNING. 255 



Faiufax Station, Va., December 18, 1862. 

Though dating from the same place as at last writing, we 
have not been here in the intermediate time. 

On Monday we left the Station. Reveille was at five 
A. M., but as we Avere the rear regiment, to guard the brig- 
ade supply train, we had to wait until the train came in with 
supplies to be loaded into wagons. It was therefore near two 
P. M. before we started. The last previous regiment had over 
five hours' start, but at Occoquan Creek it was but an horn' 
ahead. 

But such a road ! Mud, ruts, cordviroy, holes, — such a 
mixture was never known to me before. A mile and a half 
an hour was handsome progress. About sunset we reached 
the Occoquan, which we had forded a few miles above, last 
August ; forded it anew six miles and a half from Fairfax 
Station ; climbed the opposite hills, still crowned with last 
winter's rebel earthworks ; moved on a mile, and bivouacked 
in a tangled wood. 

The stars cheated us. The clear sky promised fair weather. 
But toward morning it rained ; it blew ; it poured. We 
pulled our rubber blankets over us, and went to sleep again. 
Reveille at five, in a cold, drenching rain. The men stood it 
good-naturedly, however. At seven we moved on, one regi- 
ment in advance. 

The roads the day before were the Avorst possible. That 
day they beat possibility. Mud, mud, mud. The road was 
ascertained to be fordable in several places, however ; but 
men who could not swim staid on the banks. By noon the 
column had made three miles, but it took till night for the 
wagons to get so far. At noon orders came from belo\? to 
halt, — nobody knew why. The halt was turned into camp. 



2ot) THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAK. 

which means, on the march, building fires, and sitting down 
on the gi'ound. The Avind blew the clouds off, and it came 
warmer too. We had luxurious quarters — we did. A 
young pine thicket, with the interior cut out and the walls 
thickened up with pine branches ; a bed of pine boughs fit for 
a king, and a huge fire in front. There we slept, five of us 
in one enclosure, soundly. 

Up at five again. Two days' cooked rations in haversacks. 
Soon on the road — for Dumfries ? No, northward ! Then 
we knew that fifteen hundred rebel cavalry, and nobody knew 
how many infantry, were at Brentsville, threatening Fairfax 
Station, and our division was to march back to defend that 
depot of rations. So we did, yesterday, nine miles and a half. 
Nothing special occurred save a snow squall, — and a little 
trouble by reason of a brigade running up to us, and trying to 
get ahead of us, as we were oi'dered to bring up the rear of 
ours next behind the wagons. I did not knoAv who the officer 
was that made the trouble, but he showed importance enough 
to be lieutenant-general, at least, if not President of the United 
States. 

It seems to us very queer that a whole division should be 
sent back merely to guard Fairfax Station, a place of no con- 
sequence except from its deposit of rations — two thirds of 
which are kept in cars for fear of accidents. Needed so 
much elsewhere, it looks strange to see our armies scattered 
in petty service. So we suppose it presages a general back- 
ward movement. 

The defeat at Fredericksburg we now learn of mth sad- 
ness. The papers do not say " defeat," but what else is it, 
where the army, having crossed the Rappahannock, is three 
times repulsed in its attempt to carry the enemy's works, — 
repulsed with terrible loss, — retires across the river in a 



« 



WINTER CAMPAIGNING. 257 

dark and rainy night, and pulls back all its pontoons to de- 
stroy communication ? It is simple defeat — that is all. Call 
it so. Look at it as it is. Give the rebels credit for using, 
in fortifying, the time in which our army lay quiet in front 
of Fredericksburg. Their army is no braver than ours. 
They are miserably deficient in supplies of which we have 
abundance. They are no hetter armed, have no more nor 
hetter artillery ; but our only late success is Antietam. 

Eight days we have been on the road. The weather has 
generally been wonderfully favorable for this season. But 
we have had cold and wet, toil and sleepless hours. We try 
the winter campaign under pleasant circumstances, and we 
do it cheerfully. But we often wish that the wise people at 
home, demanding a winter campaign as they sit by their com- 
fortable firesides, with their' well cooked food to eat, their 
warm beds to sleep in when they are tired of urging on the 
army — could try a week of march and bivouac even before 
the snows come. We are willing to do what is needful ; but, 
wise men, let those control the campaign who know enough 
to do it. 

Yet I do not wonder that civilians are astonished at the 
results of this war. Who is not ? With such an army, so 
large, so brave, always equal, in an open fight, to Southerners, 
man for man, it is humiliating to see such failmes. 



Fairfax Station, Va., December 24, 1862. 

A "WEEK ago it was said to our commander, as we were 

halted in the road, " Put your regiment into the Avood, stack 

arms, and wait for orders." So it was done, and we have 

been Avaiting ever since. Waited so long, indeed, that we are 

22 * 



258 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

about to begin the building of huts, to be made of the small, 
straight pines which are plenty hereabouts. The weather 
has been remarkably pleasant for the week past, and little 
real suffei'ing has been endured. 

In the mean time we tender our heartiest sympathies to the 
Massachusetts men at East New York, on account of their 
exposure. We read that " the men have passed the last two 
nights in barracks and tents, sleeping on straw, Avithout any 
stoves to take the keen edge from the air." Poor fellows ! 
No stoves ! The " keen edge from the air ! " How could 
they survive ! For the eight days, of which the two Avere a 
part, we were marching into the darkness, in bivouac at 
night, with neither barrack nor tent, rarely ever seeing a 
wisp of straw, and on part rations ; in cold, in wet ; eating 
our dinner in the air when the water in one's cup actually 
" skimmed over" with thin ice between two drinkings at the 
same meal. Poor men at East New York ! " Barracks and 
tents ! " " Straw ! " Why didn't they board at the Astor? 
or, say the Fifth Avenue, which is thought to be a tolerable 
hotel ? A sad thought strikes me ; have they been furnished 
yet with umbrellas, or rubber shoes, or parasols for warm 
days ? have arrangements been made for hau* mattresses, or 
feather beds? are they provided with hair oil, and pier 
glasses? with cologne and hair-dye? These things should 
be looked into immediately, immediately ! 

These remarks are exclusive of aU reference to their ra- 
tions, which were doubtless vUlanous. But what say you to 
short rations, to a regiment within two hundred rods of a 
commissary's post, on a railroad, eighteen miles from Alex- 
andria ? Short rations in spite of the utmost efforts of the 
regimental officers ? So it has been. The ration prescribed 
by law is not given. The old rule, that rations not drawn 



MY POLITICS. 259 

should be credited to " compauy funds," so that needful 
articles might be purchased, was revoked last February for 
men in the field.* And, still worse, no back rations can be 
drawn at all. That is, if a commissary is unable, on some 
day, or too lazy, to furnish the ration which the men are 
entitled to, they lose it forever. If a sudden movement is 
ordered, and an article like flour is on hand, which is useless 
on a march, they must go hungry, although there may be 
thousands of dollars worth not drawn. The fact is, the 
ration guaranteed by law is large ; but whether the men get it 
depends on some commissary's Avhim entirely. Of course, in 
such circumstances as those of the Rappahannock campaign 
of last summer, imavoidable hitches may occur. But, with 
communications all open, in the very vicinity of Washington, 
with government furnishing most liberally, — the men who 
Avill let soldiers go hungry are scoundrels, if not swindlers. 

For the present our corps forms part of the reserve. Gen- 
eral Sigel's grand division. We believe in General Sigel, too. 
I do not believe that any important movement will take place 
immediately. It always takes time, I have noticed, after 
every failure, to get ready for another enterprise. But the 
delay cannot be long. The country demands action. The 
cabinet crisis of course disturbed all plans ; its passing away 
restores possibilities. The army, I believe, would have been 
glad of a reconstruction, but not in the direction things Avere 
tending. 

I have had two letters attacking my politics. They want 
to know what party I belong to. They say I believe in a 
general Avho is Democratic, and in emancipation, which is 
Republican. Bosh ! I do not " belong to " any party. They 
never bought me, and o£ course I don't " belong to " either. 

* So it was said then ; but I now think that the ration money is still cred- 
ited. 



2G0 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

I always vote. It is a duty. I never had the good fortune 
to vote for a successful candidate for Congress but once ; and 
I wish I hadn't done it, for he said in Congress the other 
day, that the " old Federalist party was as honest and patri- 
otic a party as ever existed." I sori'ow over a vote for an 
old Federalist ! But it was done " ignorantly and in un- 
belief." 

I believe in Union, first, last, and forever. I judge of a 
general by no party predilections. I judge of measures by 
their need for the restoration of the Union. Slavery is now 
to me the greatest obstacle to the perpetuity of our govern- 
ment. The President cannot abolish slavery, but the Pres- 
ident has, I believe, just as much right to seize slave prop- 
erty as he has to seize horse property. He claims no right 
to abolish slavery, but merely to seize slave property, — 
which is a marked distinction. I could not support the ad- 
ministration in anything I believed unconstitutional. I can 
support it in what the commander-in-chief does as a soldier. 
He wishes to deprive the rebels of their strength ; freeing 
their slaves will do it. The regeneration of Southern society 
is another matter, something beyond present duty, something 
whose devising may appall the wisest man. 

Party is the bane of this contest. Party ! I remember a 
good church-member in New Hampshire, sound and ortho- 
dox, who said he " would vote for the devil, if he was on 
the Whig ticket." That's party. I would vote for a pair 
of Andrew Jackson's old boots. That's not party, that's 
patriotism ! 

Why need there have been these present dissensions ? How 
glad we were, after Sumter, to see all party lines obliterated 
in love to the Flag ! I remember how, that Monday morn- 
ing, very early, I took up the familiar Boston Post with a lit- 



TRUE PATRIOTISM. 261 

tie trembling. I was rebuked. There was the Flag. My 
hat flew up to the ceiling, to the intense astonishment of sev- 
eral grave people. There was the true ring in that Post. 
There has been, ever since, tx'ue patriotism, though I differ 
from it as to some measures. I have read it much, and find 
no factious opposition to the administration. So I read 
Republican papers. I find true patriotism. Why need they 
quarrel ? Why were partisans allowed to renew party lines ? 
Why were calls issued for mere party conventions? Why 
was it deemed " necessary to preserve the party organiza- 
tions," when, if either old party had held aloof, the war 
could not have gone on a month? Why exclude one party 
from the pettiest town offices ? When I Avas at home — 
after Antietam — it seemed to me as if madness had seized 
many people. Men calling others " traitors ; " men fighting 
their neighbors, when they had better been handling a musket 
in Virginia. I was grieved and sick at heart. 

The Democratic party is not, with few exceptions, going 
to favor rebels. It will prosecvxte the war in earnest. It 
will not hamper the President, much less his generals. The 
Republican party, with few exceptions, are in favor of carry- 
ing on the war. Let it not hamper the generals. " The 
Republican party, with few exceptions ? " Yes, there are 
exceptions. It is well known in some circles that there are 
some prominent Republicans Avho regard the war as a mere 
question of boundaries, nothing else. 



Fairfax Station, Va., January 2, 1863. 
Two things : How we met the enemy at the Occoquan ; 
and how I went to the President's reception on New Year's. 



262 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

News came on Saturday last that the rebels had taken 
Dumfries. We could hear heavy artillery in that direction. 
We afterward learned — on the road — that the enemy had 
captured three regiments at Dumfries,. and also two pieces 
of artillery. Of the artillery loss, there could be no doubt, 
for we were told by men of the same battery. The stories 
were true, except that the enemy had not taken Dumfries, 
nor any regiments, nor the artillery. 

But, on Saturday night, an orderly (one always reminds 
me of the printer's devil), brought commands to be ready to 
move at any moment, in light marching order. " Light 
marching order" meant — no knapsacks, but three days' 
rations in haversacks, and thirty rounds of ammunition per 
man. The Avhole corps was under the same orders. So we 
packed up, in case of accidents while we might be gone ; 
but, knowing the indefiniteness of " a moment's notice," went 
to bed — or our substitute for bed — as usual. It was wise. 
In more juvenile campaigning, we should have kept awake. 
As it was, we slept all night, had a breakfast, and were on 
the road in less than ten minutes after the order came to 
" fall in," and so lost our Sunday service. 

Six miles and a half to the Occoquan, over the road trav- 
elled and retraced a week or two before. The road had 
greatly improved, however, and artillery and the extra wagons 
with forage, moved steadily along. Wolf Run Shoals reached 
— a halt. Then came an orderly to the division commander, 
with tidings. " Cavalry of the rebels had attacked Dumfries, 
but had been driven off." " They were passing up toward 
Fairfax Station." " They had occupied Fairfax Station, and 
captured our camp, and paroled the gviards." It seemed so 
good a joke that the rebels had gone round and taken a camp 
and baggage just left, that roars of laughter were heard on 



OCCOQUAN RIVER. 263 

all sides, wliich would break out anew every few minutes. 
When, however, reflection recalled the various items in our 
baggage, we didn't see the joke. And gladly did we learn 
about nine P. M. that the rebels had not captured the station, 
but were only approaching it, while our men left there were 
fighting bravely, though steadily being driven back by the 
superior force of the enemy. By and by we learned that 
the enemy had not attacked our force there, but if they did, 
as was evidently their purpose, our men xoould be driven 
back. Still later, it was ascertained that the enemy did not 
appear to intend an attack there, but Avere several miles 
another way. And still later next morning — the rebels had 
gone by way of Burke's Station, four miles above Fairfax 
Station — and passed out of our regions. 

And that was how we met the enemy at Occoquan River. 

But it was a very pleasant sight — that of a whole division 
on the two sides of the river. One brigade had been sent 
back on the first tidings, but all the rest remained. Some 
lovely pieces of artillery, Napoleon guns, marked " Revere 
Copper Company," were put in position. And we bivouacked 
in the beautiful starlight. There are no such pyrotechnics 
as a feAV thousand bivouac fires. I went once to see the fire- 
works on Boston Common, of a fourth of July ; but, pshaw ! 
they do not compare for a moment with bivouac fires — 
particularly in a night of thin mist. One night there, how- 
ever, was clear and cool. When we woke in the morning, 
the water in our canteens was solid ice. 

In the forenoon we were ordered back. It took one hour 
and fifty minutes to reach camp — six mUes and a half. It 
seemed like getting home to reach camp again. They had 
been somewhat alarmed ; wagons were packed, for precau- 
tion's sake, and things generally made ready to move. At 



264 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Burke's Station the railroad had been torn up — only to be 
replaced in a few hours ; the telegraph Avire cut — after Stu- 
art, the humorous rebel, had telegraphed to Washington that 
the last lot of mules was not satisfactory, and he wanted 
better next time ; and then he had escaped. Mules ! He 
ought to be satisfied with some of the mules in our army. 

I went to Washington. Not to attend the President's re- 
ception, for I had forgotten they had such things, but to do 
divers errands, regimental and personal. One was, to see if 
the paymaster had frozen up — that worthy having last paid 
us up to June 30, while some of our men's families were 
actually suffering at home. I wonder if the paymasters have 
been paid themselves in that time ; or the clerks in the Treas- 
ury or War Office, &c., &c.^ &c. 

The railroad to Alexandria is in good order, run as a gov- 
ernment road. So, having leave of absence, I got transpor- 
tation to Alexandria ; showed my pass at the Ferry, which 
convinced the officials that I did not intend to capture Wash- 
ington ; hurried about divers errands ; found where the trouble 
was with our mails ; had a shrewd suspicion that the army 
would be paid so soon as their clamors brought about some 
new legislation ; and I went to bed. To bed ! None of your 
piles of straw ! In a hotel ! None of your bivouacs ! But 
somehow, I did not sleep much. It seemed unnatural. There 
was no tattoo — so barbarous are they in our Capital ; no 
reveille, even. 

At Washington City they have evils, such as paved side- 
walks, which soon tire one. All sorts of lies were posted 
on all sorts of stores, about the " best goods in to^vn," the 
" cheapest store in the city," and all that. Young boot-blacks, 
with a trap made of a raisin box, wanted to " Black yer boots ! 
Make 'em shine ! " Newsboye and apple women abounded. 



OFFICERS AT WASHINGTON. 265 

Everybody wanted to sell something ; and being "just from 
the country," I was afraid of city snares. 

But the President's reception was to come off January 
1st, — for the public at twelve M ; for officers of the army 
and nav^ at half past eleven A, M. Of course I preferred 
the more quiet half past eleven, and the column to be led by 
the general-iu-chief. Thereby one gets rid of the rush. You 
see they grade things here. The ambassadors went earlier 
stiU. It is as somebody said — David Crockett, I think — 
about dining ; common people dine at twelve ; common clerks 
in departments at one P. M. ; head clerks at two ; represent- 
atives at three ; heads of departments at four ; senators at 
five ; ambassadors at six ; and the President — he doesn't 
dine till the next day. 

Of course the rush was great — of officers. Even the 
fossiliferous strata were uptm-ned. Plenty of gay staff officers 
are in Washington, crowds of doctors — I beg pardon, army 
surgeons — and several visitors. I had a little repugnance 
to helping swell the throng ; so did the officers with me. 
Still, as to the great many officers in Washington, there is a 
deal of humbug. At the time of the Fredericksburg battle, 
some New York paper says, a hundred officers were about 
Willard's. Well, what of it? Willard's is the news rendez- 
vous. Consider how easily a hundred, interested to read the 
bulletin there, could assemble. First, the general-in-chief is 
in Washington, and he has a staff, necessarily. Secondly, 
the quartermaster-general, the adjutant-general, the military 
governor, the paymaster-general, and tlie surgeon-general, 
have each a staff. Third, what military force there is in the 
city has officers. Fourthly, there is a multitude of surgeons, 
easily mistaken for army officers, as they wear uniforms. 
Add to these the convalescent officers just able to move 
23 



266 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

about, and you have hundreds necessarily in Washington. Of 
course the display of epaulets was great. 

In the forenoon I went to the " Soldier's Free Library " 
in Fifth Street, under the care of John A. Fowle, Esq. He 
has accumulated, mainly from Massachusetts help, about or 
over two thousand five hundred volumes, excellently selected. 
I am glad to say that many came from Jamaica Plain, and 
many from Dorchester. The soldiers in hospital have the 
free use of the library, Avhich is open daily. An inspection 
of the entry book will show astonishing results as to the 
number and character of the books taken. For the first 
time, novels are rejected by the borroAvers. 

On New Year's the room Avas open all day. Coffee, cake, 
fruit, «fec., Avas furnished freely to all soldiers, Avith a little 
present of some books and papers, and Testament (Avhere 
needed), to each. The crowd was dense and continuous, and 
the poor fellows seemed happy. " This is the most like home 
of anything yet," I heard one man say. " Yes," responded 
the others. One of the assistants Avas a most excellent lady 
from Dorchester, who took a journey to be present. God 
blessed her in the gratitude of the soldiers. 

Among other gifts was a shirt made by a little girl. The 
soldiers cheered her again and again. Some of them looked 
at it and at her picture as if they had little girls at home, 
and it did them good. I copied the writing attached : 

" The Little Fingers of Alice Heath, 

Of Bunker Hill, 

Charlestown, Mass., 

Aged 4^ years, sewed every stitch in this shirt. 

She loves the Soldiers." 

Over two thousand men came there, and the soldiers felt] 
better, New Year's, for looking at her Avork — as Avell as the 



UPHOLD THE PRESIDENT. 267 

pictures aud other things provided to make the room cheerful. 
That soldier's free library is a good thing. I have examined 
and know. 

As to how the President looked at the reception, and what 
he said — I almost forgot to say — that I did not attend the 
reception. 

But that evening I read the honest, manly, earnest procla- 
mation of freedom ; and, apart from the object — the manner 
in which that object was framed into exjjression has increased 
my respect for its author a hundred fold. Who can read it 
without feeling that the writer is a noble man ? So unlike 
Davis's tissue of lies and bombast — so simple, so direct, so 
devout. Every man who believes in freedom must do every- 
thing in his power to uphold the hands of the President. 



Fairfax Station, Va., Janiiary 8, 1863. 

There is no change in our position, barring some re-ar- 
rangements of picket duty. Our own regiment has moved 
into log houses, except that the field aud staff are not yet 
furnished. 

Last Sunday I had hoped that we could have public wor- 
ship. The Sabbath before we had been away on a march 
to the Occoquan. The weather on the last Sabbath was 
beautiful, but, alas ! there came an order for a corps review. 
General Slocum reviewed his command. It occupied most 
of the day, but I cannot describe it, for I did not attend. It 
was a matter for regret, that, when work on the new log vil- 
lage had been suspended till Monday by our commander, a 
review should usurp the sacred time which a soldier needs 
for both bodily and spiritual help. I had purposed a prayer 



268 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

meeting in llie evening ; but a sliower nullified the plan. 
Such are the frequent obstacles to plans for good. 

I tried at Washington to obtain a new supply of reading 
matter, to secure which was a main part of my errand there 
a week ago. But I failed utterly. Now, I receive the Avel- 
come tidings that a box of well-selected pviblications is on its 
way. I am more than glad ; I am grateful. A winter camp 
with no books, few papers, is a dull place. I have many 
calls for them, but no supply. A supply could have been ac- 
cumulated, but no transportation coidd be afforded. So, 
small and frequent bimdles are the only useful ones. 

Still there are many men who read their Testaments, many 
with Prayer-books. I have seen this, in repeated cases, ha- 
bitual. Some of these books are much worn. Many of them 
are gifts of mothers, whose prayers doubtless ascend contin- 
ually. One which I yet use was a father's gift the night 
before leaving home for college. So Avell I remember the 
evening that I always think that every other gift Bible here 
has its vividly remembered time of parting. These Bibles ! 
what histories cluster around them. Here is one history. At 
the battle of Antietam, as our regiment was for the second 
time going into the conflict, a soldier staggered. It was from 
no wound, but in the group of dying and dead through Avhich 
they were passing, he saw his father^ of another regiment, 
lying dead. There too was a wounded man, who knew them 
both, who pointed to the father's corpse, and then upwards. 
Onward went the son, by his father's corpse, to do his duty 
in the line, which, with bayonets fixed, advanced upon the 
enemy. When the battle was over he came back, and with 
other help buried his father. From his person he took the 
one thing he had, a Bible, given to the father years before, 
when he was an apprentice. 



SINGING IN CAMP. 269 

Let me suggest that any friend can send to some soldier, 
by viail^ a Testament, at very slight expense. If you do not 
know Avhether he has one, bid him, if he is already supplied, 
give it to some one who has none. Some of our Episcopalians 
can also send a little book, " Selections from the Book of 
Common Prayer," "published by Button. I have seen these 
made the rule of daily Scripture reading, by some unused to 
regularity in this respect. 

One seldom knows what he does. Last summer, at Little 
Washington, 1 gave a small book to an officer belonging to 
another brigade. Soon after he was taken prisoner. That 
little book chanced to be in his pocket. Meeting him recently, 

he said to me, "Do you remember giving me a copy of 

, last summer?" I did not at first. " Well, that little 



book," said he, " has been the gi'eatest comfort to me. It 
was all I had to read in jail at Richmond, and it was a treas- 
ure to me daily." That book he will cherish always, with, 
I trust, the God and Saviour of whom it tells. 

Singing books are useful. The temporary effect which 
sacred music has is so wonderful that, in the absence of other 
opportunities, it is well to foster its use. A few nights 
ago some singing was heard, and the first hymn was one in 
which occurs the verse — 

" "When we've been there ten thousand years " — 

— sung to " Emmons " (I believe that is the name. I may 
be wrong as to the name, but I used to like the tune in prayer 
meetings at home) ; after one verse the camp became entirely 
q^iet. Officers and men listened to the good old hymn, roll- 
ing up calmly in the dark woods. It seemed to tranquilize 
the whole. It is a remarkable fact that, amidst all singing, 
sacred words bear almost entire sway in camp. If I was a 
23* 



270 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

parishioner, I should dislike to vote to •' call" a minister who 
could not sing. But don't take the hint, when I get home, for, 
alas ! I cannot myself sing ; yet there is beautiful singing in 
my home. 

These few hints will serve to show that soldiers are im- 
pressible, for good or evil, easily. Men in hospital are par- 
ticularly ready to converse. Indeed, there is no lack any-B 
where. There seems to be two reasons for this : one is, the 
circumstances in which we live — or die ; the other, that the 
soldierly frankness, which is the rule in all intercourse, runs 
through everything. Yet it is a hard place for young men of 
no rough experience with temptation. There are Avicked 
men, very wicked men, in every regiment. 

In cases of wounds and death, it is' remarkable to see the 
quickness with which men appreciate and understand Christian 
truth. God seems to show special gi'ace. With former fears 
as to death-bed repentances, yet I have seen as good evidences 
of grace in svich cases as I ever saw. I recall one case, where 
a wounded man said to the chaplain after a severe battle, " I 
want jow to tell me the shortest and most direct road to Jesus 
Christ." " There is but one road : ' Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shall he saved ; ' commit your soul to 
him,vidth your whole heart." The next day the man joyfully 
said, " / believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." He lived for 
several days in great happiness, though about to leave his 
strongest tie in one whom he was never to make his wife ; 
and he died in joy. 

An old Christian is not injured. His faith is strengthened 
by army life. Pie dies in peace. One of ours died recently. 
He had been long absent, and when he returned the chaplain 
was sick and absent. He had been a great helper in prayer- 
meetings ; a meek, consistent, faithful Christian. Entering 
the hospital, the chaplain looked around a moment, and then 



VIRGINIA MUD. 271 

saw him. " You have uot forgotten me," said the dying man, 
with a smile. " No, not you ; nor has God, I fully believe." 
"^0," said he, "he is gracious." "Is there anything 
you want, or want done?" asked the chaplain. " Nothing. 
Christ has done all." True, Christ has done all. But how 
weak our faith sometimes is. 



In the Mud, Va., January 30, 1863. 

Rain. Mud. Snow. 

That is the history of the last week or two. 

Orders had, for several days, kept our corps waiting in 
readiness. On the 19th a movement forward, simultaneous 
with the movement of the whole army. Our corps, General 
Slocum's, is part of the grand division reserve of General 
Sigel. 

Our elegant camp, laid out in streets of uniform width, 
with twelve log-hoiises of uniform size and position to a com- 
pany, with its well-built chimneys, and its beautifully cleared 
ground, had to be left. A day later — we should have re- 
mained for weeks. As it was, while the other corps (what 
is plural of corps — corps-es?) returned to their huts, ours 
had made thirty-five miles of " impossible" marching. 

An effort has been made to advance, and it failed. There 
is now demonstrated the wisdom of the quiet of *a year ago, 
in the sick men, the abandoned provisions, the disheartened 
spirit. Nobody knows what Virginia winter mud is till he 
tries it. And yet even Boston wisdom is still clamoring for 
an advance. Suppose the movement had been made a few 
days earlier, in dry weather. Then the army would have 
been unable to get supplies, located immovably, in most dan- 
gerous circumstances. The delay was a blessing. 



272 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

And now, another change of commanders. General Hook- 
er takes command. 

Who wonders that the army of the Potomac is not in the 
best condition, when its commanders are changed so often? 
I speak now of no merits or demerits in any one of them, for 
it is none of my business, nor of course am I qualified. I 
believe that any commander, Avhatever one's individual pref- 
erences are, has the right to the heartiest sustaining from 
any person in his command. If I were not in the army, I 
should try to do the same, without regard to personal predi- 
lections. Plow much more so in present circumstances ? 

Yet frequent changes do work badly. The men have no 
time to get confidence. There is a marvellous power in a 
hearty, enthusiastic faith towards the general. It is half our 
strength. But we have no time to gain such a faith. It is 
like a school which has a new teacher once a week. 

That the army is in the best possible condition, is absurd.* 
It is not. The long delay in paying the soldiers their just 
dues, not only made them discontented — it exasperated them 
extremely. On their thirteen dollars in season, often depends 
whether a wife and child shall go cold and hungry, if not go 
to the poor-house. Such letters from homes, as came, would 
melt a heart of stone. Payment has been partially made 
now. Believe me, the long delay in payment, which every 
soldier firmly believes (whether right or wrong) was unne- 
cessary, has left a bitter feeling not easily to be overcome. 

Besides, there is a feeling that we are the football of polit- 
ical movements. Whoever they would like for a general — 

* True. But it was surprising how rapidly General Hooker changed all 
this. He went to work quietly, and soon made most marvellous improve- 
ments. The army was never in better condition than after a few weeks of 
his command, — nor in better spirits. 



DISCIPLINE NECESSARY. 273 

they want somebody long enough to find out his good qual- 
ities. 

But worse than this, it is felt that there are dissensions in 
high quarters ; that some difierent leaders fail in a single- 
minded readiness to obey orders, do their duty, and serve 
only their country. In some corps, I presume, there is not 
the discipline there ought to be. I have heard (though I 
cannot vouch for it) that one specified regiment indulged 
itself in groaning for a certain general ; but this must have 
been a single instance. In our corps such a thing could 
not take place. 

But with all this, it is absurd to say, as a general thing, 
that the Potomac army is not perfectly reliable. Notwith- 
standing any and all grievances, in spite of all disappointed 
preferences, they will go readily wherever their generals will 
lead them. They will fight bravely under any general placed 
over them. They are patriotic, and ready to show their 
patriotism now, as they have on so many bloody fields. 
They detest traitors everywhere. 

If there is one thing needful now, it is thorough discipline. 
I mean discipline Avhich shall embrace all, high and low. 
Tlie commander of this army ought to be an autocrat. Un- 
less he can be so, he cannot succeed. If he is not to be 
trusted as such, he ought not to be trusted in command. 

A little of the same discipline w^ould not hm't all the Avay 
up. If a soldier gets drunk on duty, he is surely punished ; 
if insulting, severely punished. The soldier must not speak 
in censure of Congress ; yet that drunken rowdy from Dela- 
Avare goes dru:nk into the Senate, refuses to obey orders, 
draws a pistol on his superior for the time ; he goes in the 
next day still under the power of liquor ; arrested, it is true, 
— but he iiiakes an apology — and such an apology ! "If" 



274 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

he has done ccrtaiu things, he regrets it. Instead of being 
instantly kicked out of the Senate, wjth the readiness with 
which a soldier would be punished, these men, who make 
laws to punish soldiers, drop the whole matter. Verily, there 
is no need of " speaking disrespectfully" of Congress. 

What is to be done with the Potomac army is doubtful. 
Rumors from high quarters intimate that it will be broken up 
as such ; that a sufficient force will be left in front of Wash- 
ington, and the remainder used elsewhere. At present, mud 
embargoes everything, and citizens say that it is likely to do 
so for weeks. Perhaps the Aveather may change. One thing 
is certain, mud or no mud, this army will do what it is told 
to do, if within the bounds of possibility. There is not one 
word of truth in the reports of a mutinous spirit, or any 
approach thereto, which some papers insist upon. 

General Slocum's headquarters are at Stafford Court 
House, and his corps are all near him. 

An old friend touches me up in the Journal for growling 
at the cheats of quartermasters in the matter of forage. His 
hard work to get fodder for his horse he laughs at, and con- 
trasts old soldiers and new. Now here is the principle : no 
one ever heard me complain of any personal hardship, but no 
old soldier will allow his helpless horse to suffer, when in the 
immediate vicinity of a qviartermaster, who has ample means 
at hand to fulfil his duty. Just so, an officer who Avill bear 
any hardship himself will groAvl if his men, who cannot help 
themselves, are exposed to useless hunger on account of some 
rascally commissary. On a march, unable to get supplies, 
nobody complains. But when the means are at hand, and 
some official neglects his duty, or swindles the men into hard- 
ships, " old " soldiers, and especially old army regular officers^ 
do feel it " unpatriotic not to find fault" in behalf of helpless 



m. 



NECESSARY AND NEEDLESS HARDSHIPS. 275 

animals or helpless soldiers. It is a duty to prefer compiaint. 
" Your first duty," said our noble first colonel to his company 
commanders long ago, " is not to see that your quarters are 
ready, but your vien^s ; not to get your supper, but to see 
that your men have theirs." And he set us the example 
that helpless dependents should not sutFer, because some lazy 
or scoundrelly official neglected his duty ; and with it the 
example to bear every personal hardship with a cheerful face. 
I wrote those statements because I knew they would meet 
the eyes of men high in office, who would investigate. When 
we (and I include myself) have been eight days Avithout taking 
off a boot ; have slept on wet ground and in rain, shelterless ; 
have been five days with but four meals ; have been four 
nights with less than four hours sleep, and that on the 
ground ; have lived on green corn as we plucked it ; have 
drank water that an hour's quiet could not make trans- 
parent ; have been for weeks at a time without a tent or 
other shelter, — with all our officers and men, — we only 
smiled at the hardships. But if a commissary or quarter- 
master needlessly starves a horse or staiwes the men, then 
an officer who does not attack him is a fool or a knave. Are 
the distinctions plain? 



276 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE PREPARATION SPRING. 



Stafford Court House, Va., March 6, 1863. 

I HAVE been trying a remittent fever. I tried a mild one 
last October ; and, for variety, a shake or so in December. 
I don't like them. Fortunately I have been in the city while 
ill ; fortunately, considering the sickness. 

I don't like the " remittent." I have a vague recollection 
of considering one day that it was not myself who was sick, 
but a crockery image of John Wesley on the mantel ; but I 
was puzzled to understand how he could have nausea at the 
stomach, when he was only a bust ; and how his limbs could 
ache, when he had no limbs. But I am satisfied that the 
crockery John was right, as the real one was in head and 
heart. But as to this detestable climate — Virginia will 
always be as despicable to me as the mean trickery of its 
convention at secession time. I shall never think so highly 
of General Washington as I should if he had been born 
somewhere else — although, poor man, it wasn't his fault. 

Government is kind to its sick. An officer sick in Wash- 
ington may go to hospital (where he must pay his board, 
which is fair, because he takes cash instead of rations), or to 
the house of a friend or a hotel-keeper. He " reports" to a 
surgeon, who has the care of sick officers, if out of hospital. 



SICKNESS. 277 

The surgeon sends one to examine and prescribe. The sick 
man's name is entered as " under treatment," and is also 
reported to the provost marshal, who graciously gives a 
" pass " to the officer. Then the surgeon takes good care of 
the patient ; mine was a most kind and skilful one. Dr. 
William R. Dewitt, whom I shall always remember with 
gratitude. Government furnishes medicines of the best qual- 
ity — its quinine being outrageously bitter, its calomel, ipecac, 
and opium sufficiently disgusting ; but its citrates taste too 
nicely to be good. Medicines, you know, should taste 
abominably, else Avill " children cry for them," which 
wouldn't do. • 

Getting out of doors, I heard a few debates at the Capitol. 
Some of the speeches were too disgusting for a sensitive 
stomach, too ipecac-like, — the vile frauds. Some excited 
the nervous system unduly, — the miserable treason. But 
some were a good, healthy tonic ; manly, patriotic, noble. 
I tell you, in the senate-gallery, I felt proud of old Massachu- 
setts and of my native New Hampshire. Senators Sumner 
and Wilson are men, whatever their imperfections. How 
some of the traitors did cringe under Senator Wilson's lash. 
You can't spare that man, nor can the country. He is too 
useful, too manly, too honest, too able, to be spared. Sen- 
ator Clark had the true ring. So did some war-Democrats ; 
in fact, I guess I am a " war Democrat ; " I mean when I 
get home ; now I don't know any distinctions but patriot and 
ti-aitor. Unless the country comes to that same position, its 
speedy ruin is certain. I see you have a " Union League " in 
Boston. Good, but I belong to a better one ; it numbers seven 
or eight hundred members, and it bears the splendid title of 
the " Massachusetts Second." There is room for a few more 
members in it now. It had more, but they are buried at 
24 



278 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN, 

Winchester, at Cedai' Mountain, at Antietam, and in many a 
Avayside grave. Do not, O home friends, do not now yield 
to treason ; else these men have died in vain. 

To get back to camp requires some circumlocution. Tired 
of delay, six days before my sick leave was out I applied for 
the papers to return. The surgeon gives a paper releasing 
one from medical care, ordering him to his regiment, and 
sending him to the provost marshal. That functionary takes 
his " pass " and keeps it, and indorses on his paper from 
the surgeon " pass returned," and sends him to the " trans- 
portation officer," who gives him the paper entitling him to 
pass on government boat and railroad "to his specified destina- 
tion, good for the next day only. The man thus sent back 
had to sign a paper at the surgeon's office, stating his resi- 
dence in Washington ; which residence is visited next day to 
see if he has gone. 

So, with several direful prognostications from medical 
authority,* I took the boat for Aquia Creek. For the first 
time, I went down the magnificent Potomac. I saw, for the 
first time, our sacred Mount Vernon. In a few hours, a 
small bay filled with vessels, showed the creek. Steam tugs 
were puffing around and across. Loaded and empty vessels 
were lying around. On shore, half a dozen locomotives were 
charging in various directions. A busy crowd was on the 
wharf. We showed our " passes," and went ashore ; found 
a train of baggage cars, and speedily were at Bi'ook's Sta- 
tion, a flourishing village of one house. Then such a road 
for three miles. I thought I had seen bad roads before, but 
I never had. 

How pleasant it was to get into camp ; to shake hands ; 
to see the evening parade ; to hear tattoo and taps ; to sleep 

* Unfortunately realized before long. 



EFFICIENCY OF THE ARMY. 279 

under canvas again ; in fact, to return to a place of order, 
system, and true civilization. It was a luxury, too, to see 
real soldiers, instead of the poor fellows condemned to the 
stvipidities of Washington — that is, when one is well. It was 
a comfort to find that we had five hundred men fit for duty. 
Never has ours seemed in better condition. Drill, company 
and battalion, and officers' recitations, have kept up the char- 
acter of our regiment to its old standard. Health, too, is 
greatly improved. The order of General Hooker has insured 
good rations — fresh bread, vegetables, &c., in abundance; 
and the effect is most apparent. Indeed, the new regime has 
improved the army very greatly. Merit is commended. 
Inefficiency finds no mercy. A healthy tone is perceptible. 
Everybody feels that the army is on a fighting basis, and will 
have work and success yet. 

As to the recognition of merit — the first order I heard 
read was one commending certain regiments for efficiency 
and discipline. Orders now allow a certain number of 
absences to officers and men. But many regiments are pro- 
nounced so deficient that no more " leaves " are to be granted, 
and all absentees are recalled. Others, medium, are allowed 
their present privileges. Only eleven in this army are 
highly commended, and, as reward, are allowed an increase 
of fifty per cent, of leaves of absence. Among these is, of 
course, ours, and, I was glad to hear also, the First and 
Twentieth Massachusetts. The language of General Hooker 
is, — "have earned high commendation." Only one Massa- 
chusetts regiment falls under absolute condemnation. 

Our Colonel Quincy is expected back immediately. Wound- 
ed while bravely engaged at Cedar Mountain, then long a 
prisoner at Staunton, he has had a lingering recovery, even 
if now thoroughly well. He left us as a captain ; he returns 



280 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

by regular promotion, our colonel, and will, without doubt, 
maintain the regiment in its steady excellence. I well re- 
member, in the pursuit of Jackson last year, how, Avhen sick, 
he sprang from the ambulance to put hirnself at the head of 
his men, while the shot aud shell were briskly flying about. 

Among other changes of officers. Dr. Stone, our highly 
successful surgeon, is absent, probably to occupy a position 
in another corps. Major Mudge, for some time in command, 
has been obliged to go home from sickness, temporarily. 
Captain Shaw * becomes colonel of the Fifty-fourth. Gen- 
eral Gordon is again unable, after trial, to endure the hard- 
ships of camp, and is assigned to duty at Washington. 



Stafford Court House, Va., March 11, 1863. 

Did I speak of StaiFord Court House as being a village of 
one house ? If I did I was wrong. Careful explorations 
have satisfied me that there are hoo houses, besides a jail and 
a court house. This large town is situated in a dreary waste 
of worn out lands, and is several miles from anywhere. Dig- 
ging into the ground, one finds, a few feet down, vast quan- 
tities of shells. Does that imply that the land was once 
under the water ? If so, it was a mistake, humanly speaking, 
ever to have raised this miserable tract to daylight. So far 
I have seen no aborigines, though a few scattered houses 
indicate the former presence of a partly civilized race. The 
main house is General Sigel's headquarters. Half a mile 
eastward, General Slocum, ovir own corps commander 
reigns. Five or six miles nearer the Rappahannock, General 
Hooker is to be found — whom I have never seen but once, 
and then I had only a glimpse in the tumult of Antietam. 

* This was Robert G. Shaw, who fell at Wagner. 



NORTHERN PEACE MEN. 281 

But while one may not have seen General Hooker, every 
one feels that General Hooker commands. It is really sur- 
prising to see the ease with which he has taken actual control 
of the Potomac army. Every now and then appears some 
straightforward order, which shows that he knows exactly 
the condition of one or every corps. Merit is commended ; 
sluggishness reproved. A soldier seems to feel that if he 
does something especially worthy of praise, General Hooker 
will understand it. There is, too, a returning confidence that 
Avhen something is attempted it will be done. As to " de- 
moralization," I suppose those stories are about ended. No 
" demoralized " individual would meet with any leniency, nor a 
traitorously inclined person with any mercy. There are no 
sympathies here, so far as I can discover, with the school of 
Connecticut or New Hampshire " copperheads," I say 
" copperheads," but " woodenheads " would be more appro- 
priate — to think that peace is jiossihle, even were a separa- 
tion to be assented to. 

When we consider the circumstances which have been dex- 
terously taken hold of, I am not surprised at the growth of a 
peace party. But when we look at the real questions under- 
lying all circumstances, it is perfectly astonishing that any 
person can advocate the South side. Are we prepared to 
yield to the demands of traitors? Can Ave assent to the es- 
tablishment, out of ovirselves, of a slave empire ? Could we 
surrender the loyal citizens of Missouri, West Virginia, Ten- 
nessee, Kentucky, New Orleans, to the cruelties of brutes by 
birth, and tyrants by education ? Can Northern men advocate 
the division of their country ? Those infatuated persons who 
give " aid and comfort " to the enemy, by encouraging the 
South to persevere in their rebellious butcheries, the pro- 
vost marshal's cord is their just due for mere treason. 
24* 



282 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

But there can be no good reason to suppose the people 
of any party will follow such leaders. It must be that only a 
few men are so besotted. The masses will never follow men 
Avho would lead us to national ruin. The party which car- 
ried through the glorious war of 1812-15 ; which insisted 
iipon and obtained redress from Mexico ; which has always 
stood by the old flag ; — it always will maintain the country's 
honor. I believe it. The signs show that it is so. 

But men who are in favor of perseverance for the right, are 
liable to make mistakes when they separate too nicely the 
administration and the government. I heard this distinction 
dwelt upon in some speeches at Washington ; but while the 
speakers attacked the errors of the administration ferociously, 
I did not hear them censure the rebels with any severity. I ■! 
could not see them, in general, voting for measures indispen- 
sable to success. I listened in vain for any plans as substi- 
tutes they would stand by. Indeed, what substitute could 
be offered ? Their grievance was that the present adminis- 
tration was in power. But that cannot be helped for two 
years. The government and the administration are distin- 
guishable in theory ; but the government can be carried on 
only by the administration. Doubtless there have been mis- 
takes, many mistakes, in the conduct of the war. There 
have been measures that, as an individual, I intensely die- 
liked.* But is that a reason why I, or anybody else, should 
withhold the allegiance due to our country? Is that a reason 
why I should try to weaken the hands that are lifted to strike 
down this infernal rebellion ? 

* Yet it is surprising that so few mistakes have been made. When the 
war is ended, and men look calmly at its history, they will admire the far- 
seeing plans and single-hearted honesty of our President. I wish I could 
say as much for all his subordinates. Some of them we heartily detest. 



NORTHERN TREASON. 283 

Men do not like arbitrary arrests. Do they any better like 
Jefferson Davis's arresting, hanging, scalping loyal men, 
without the shadow of even their own pretended laws ? 

They do not like the suspension of habeas corpus. Are 
our friends at the South enjoying that privilege? 

They do not like the freeing of slaves. Do they like better 
the Southern custom of seizing our free negroes while under 
a flag of truce, and selling them into slavery — as at Ma- 
nassas ? 

They do not like the arming of blacks. Do they like it 
better Avhen their own soldiers are shot by blacks forced into 
the rebel armies — as in Jackson's army last year ; in which 
(and the proof is ready) blacks and whites stood side by side 
in the ranks as soldiers? 

They think it is a " cruel" war. Do they like better the 
decoying men by a flag of truce, and then shooting them, as 
at Harper's Ferry? the shooting unarmed negroes, as in 
Kentucky? the murder of women, as in Tennessee? the 
making of drinking cups of Yankee skulls, and spurs of jaw- 
bones, as at Bull Run ? 

So loyal, so meek, so humane, so liberal is Davis's rule 
— no violation of laws, no treason, no cruelty, no tyranny — 
is that the reason why our administration is assailed? Does 
anybody's tastes lead him to sympathize with this treason? 
If so, he is hopelessly corrupt. He is putrid. Even the 
southern buzzards would leave his carcass untouched. 

We are all rejoiced at the conscription act. I have heard 
no dissenting voice. I argued vehemently for such an act last 
summer. It ought then to have passed. I had some little 
opprobrium for attacking the bounty system as outrageously 
costly, unjust to the old soldiers, and low in its appeals, and 
eventually to be abandoned. You know how comfortable 



284 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

one feels when lie can wisely nod his head and say, " I told 
you so ! " I nod my head just so, and rejoice that Congress 
came to the same conclusion. We are all hoping that there 
will be the proper nerve shown in enforcing it. It is not 
unjust. Every man owes his life to his country, if his coun- 
try needs it. The humane exemptions in the act are 
admirable. Others than those, rich or poor, ought not to 
hesitate. 

But it is not to be overlooked that before these levies can 
come into the field most critical months will pass by. Th.e 
dawn of a suitable moment will start the armies. The South 
is putting everything into the field ; boys and old men, as 
well as the able-bodied. Evidently they have staked every- 
thing on the coming campaign. They must succeed now, or 
fall. And does not everybody see that their only hope is in 
Northern divisions? A united North can raise armies after 
the Southern ones are destroyed. Sickness alone will ruin 
the rebel forces in time, and they cannot afford to wait. 
Will any patriot at such a time, Avhen the superior resources 
of the government are beginning to tell — will any one now 
fail by word and deed to strengthen the cause of his country, 
and of (what is more) the right? Let complaints be laid 
aside now. We will settle them by and by at the ballot-box ; 
and with them we will bury every Northern traitor in a po- 
litical grave from Avhich there is no resurrection. 

The health of the army is still improving. Food is good 
— thanks to a government always liberal, and to the general 
at our head. Drill is had, with us, twice a day, and our offi- 
cers study and recite to the regimental commander. ■ 



A REVIEW. 285 



Stafford Court House, Va., March 19, 18G3. 

No change yet. But there is drill in this corps three hours 
a day. In our regiment the officers recite daily to the colonel, 
and in turn have classes of non-commissioned officers, both 
iu some military work. The men amuse themselves hugely 
with games of ball at all unoccupied hours. There are but 
three men in the regimental hospital, and they are not very 
sick. A good spii'it prevails, with a remarkable unanimity 
in favor of the conscription law and of aversion to traitors. 
The commanding general continues to grow in confidence, 
and thorough order prevails. Each man keeps his supply of 
sixty cartridges, and expects to use them by and by. Yes- 
terday we had a division review. It was a very pretty sight. 
The three brigades and three batteries made a fine appear- 
ance ; of course you know which regiment Avas the best. I 
never saw our men more statue-like in line, nor march better 
in column of companies or by flank. 

This review was before General Slocum. Our regiment is 
one of six making up the brigade commanded by General 
Gordon ; the brigade is one of three making up General 
Williams's division ; the division is one of two forming Gen- 
eral Slocum's corps; and the corps is one of — several — 
composing the army of the Potomac. Formerly there were 
tliree grand divisions, each made up of several corps ; but 
General Hooker, on taking command, abolished them, and 
had each corps report directly to him, which seems to work 
capitally. To-day a review is expected before General 
Hooker. 

Day before yesterday we heard cannonading at a distance, 
at intervals, all day, but nobody has enlightened us as to its 
whereabouts. There are no other special items, except that, 



286 THE POTOMAC AND THE llAPIDAN. 

after a careful and patient reconnoissance on Stafford Court 
House, I find that the viUage has three houses instead of 
two ; this is a final estimate. • 



Stafford Coukt House, Va., March 25, 1863. 

While the position of the army of the Potomac is un- 
changed, indications point to early movements. Not, per- 
haps, by any direct advance, for the roads are yet in execrable 
condition. Twenty-four hours rarely pass without either 
rain, snow, or hail. When the sun comes out, it dries up 
the ground very rapidly. The rains are soon over. But, 
like the master who told his servant, " I get angry quick, 
but then I am no sooner angry than I am over it again," and 
was replied to, " Yes, and no sooner over it than you are mad 
again," — so it is no sooner fair than it rains again. Last 
night it rained beautifully. Don't you remember how much 
you liked, when a boy, to go into an attic to hear the rain ? 
Well, a tent is all attic. Doubtless the sentries did not enjoy 
it so much. Corduroy roads have been built in various direc- 
tions (and I wish no worse penalty on the copperheads than 
to have to ride over a corduroy road, six hours a day for life), 
but even the corduroys are sometimes under water or under 
mud. Still, I think that after each rain the ground is a little 
harder than after the preceding. 

Whether there Avill be a battle near Fredericksburg, is 
doubted. It is exceedingly qiiestionable, good judges say, 
whether the rebels can risk one there. Of course this implies 
that their communications are threatened, in which case they 
must come out and fight, or retreat. It is suspected that 
they are now preparing to evacuate. Their pickets have 
commenced firing on ours, and they have a large cavalry 



EFFICIENCY OF THE ARMY. 287 

force threatening us on the north, which looks like a retreat 
of their main army, as they are always very ferocious some- 
where when about to draw back their armies. 

If there should be a battle, there is every confidence of 
success. Never has this army been in better condition, if 
ever as good. It is in fine spirits. It is Avell fed. It is 
healthy. It is most thoroughly equipped. The general 
seems to know everything, everywhere. Officers everywhere 
understand that negligence is not to be winked at. Inspec- 
tions of everything seem to be going on. Medical officers 
have been informed that the army has been long enough in 
service to presume them thoroughly acquainted with their 
duties. A fighting basis is the rule, and ability to move 
rapidly. 

When the work is begun, there Avill be a tremendous cam- 
paign. The rebels are suffering. Their armies are as large 
as they can ever be. Their leaders are desperate. On the 
other hand, if our general's ability, as at present seen, is a 
guarantee of the future (and the army unitedly believes it), 
he will show a daring, a rapidity, and a skill, when he does 
move, which will make decisive battles. If the rebels fight 
fifty miles from Richmond, as they now are, and are defeated, 
their army will be annihilated. 

The recent cavalry exploit has raised that branch in general 
estimation. They needed it bad enough. I remember a 
cavalry officer, Avho returned from a slight advance upon 
inferior forces, with the astonished remai-k, " General, they've 
got guns there ! " Poor fellow — he is not in service now. 
General Hooker has been putting his cavalry into fine con- 
dition. In fact, he puts everything in that condition. He 
has, too, I believe, one element of success in this — that he 
has a thorough confidence in his destiny, and has had it since 
the war began. The army believes it too. 



288 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Mr. Alvord is still working away with good results. He 
is near Stoneman's Switch, on the railroad. The Christian 
Commission has four regular stations for supplies — Aquia 
Creek, Belle Plain, Stoneman's Switch, and Falmouth. One 
of their agents. Rev. Mr. Smith, of Pepperell, I had the 
pleasure of meeting a few days ago. That he is active and 
useful, his Massachusetts friends need not be told. The Com- 
mission is just now busily distributing Testaments to the 
soldiers, for which there is occasion. I have the promise of 
some from the Commission, for which I shall be grateful. 
And none the less grateful, but more, to various friends who 
send small packages by mail or otherwise, sometimes anony- 
mously, but always welcome. 



Stapford Court House, Va., April 8, 1863. 

Saturday evening we had a ferocious snow storm. Sunday 
was a wet and uncomfortable day. Nevertheless, in spite of 
the weather, the time passed cheerfully with me, in visiting 
many of the habitations of our little town, in distributing a 
good large supply of Sabbath reading, both in our camp and 
to our companies detached at General Slocum'sheadquai'ters, 
and in a couple of hours spent with that Christian gentleman. 
General Howard. In fact, it was as pleasant a Sunday as I 
have had for a long time. Part of this is doubtless due to 
improved tone of bodily system caused by long rides in the 
saddle. The best gymnasium in the world is a saddle — with 
a good horse imder it. The next best is Dr. Dio Lewis's. 
But give me the saddle, with a rubber coat and cap cover 
strapped to it in case of rain, and some cavalry boots as the 
enemy of both raiu and mud. You are on the road of health, 



A DAY'S RIDE. 289 

always provided you have some errand, even it be only 
amusement. "Taking exercise" merely /or exercise is of 
very little use. It is just as great a humbug as " early 
rising," which I am glad has been rooted out of the rules 
of our colleges and seminaries. 

In various long trips I have taken quite extensive views of 
our army. Its vastness, its order, its equipment, its stores, 
its contentment, astonish me. Do not be anxious for the 
army of the Potomac. When the time comes it will do what 
it attempts. 

On Monday, my brother chaplain of the Tenth Maine and 
myself took such a trip. We made a day of it. Starting in 
the morning, though rain was threatened, we took the road 
towards Falmouth. How pleasant is the saddle'with another 
saddle, and a genial and congenial companion in it, with 
nothing to do, and all day to do it in. The road was pic- 
turesque. A young river meandered down its centre, towards 
which sloped doAvn beautiful banks of mud on either side, 
while the fields were delightfully variegated by alternate 
patches of snow and swamp. You have your choice of path ; 
Avhichever you take you will wish you had tried the other. 
Like the complaining toper, it is not the length of the road, 
but its width that troubles you, as you tack continually. 
Three or four miles, as measured by line, brought us to a by- 
road, which, turning towards the left, took us into the woods. 
All along we found tracks, which we recognized as those of 
Mr. Alvord's wagon. We followed them, and they led us 
correctly. Moral : It is safe to follow Mr. Alvord's tracks ! 
Two or three miles through the wood, — ten miles of swamp 
(ridiculously estimated at only half a mile!) — Potomac 
creek to ford, — a hill, — a long plain, delightful for a canter, 
— and we saw the Stoneman's Switch station, and, near it, 
25 



290 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Mr. Alvord's meeting-tent. We licard singing as we dis- 
mounted. We found there quite a number of chaplains, with 
more soldiers. A two hours' meeting passed off rapidly, and 
the chaplains made mutual acquaintance. Several chap- 
lains disclosed their difficulties. I had occasion to thank 
God inwardly that I had no acquaintance Avith many of their 
obstacles ; for Providence had cast my lot among gentlemen. 
I wish that some of our people at home, who give ear and 
tongue to disparagements of chaplains, had been there. They 
would be ashamed of themselves. I enter my protest against 
such insinuations. I assert, after nearly two years' observa- 
tion, that the average of energy, ability, and uprightness 
among the chaplains is not surpassed by the average of those 
qualities among the ministry of even New England and New 
York. I cannot see why Christians should try to disparage 
this class. It is an outrage. . It hurts their influence here, of 
course. 

We learned that a review was to take place a mile off, 
and after the meeting we Avent thither. It was the revieAV of 
a whole cavalry corps. Long lines of the cavalry stretched 
for vast distances, necessarily making various angles, on ac- 
count of their great number. They Avere all motionless and 
silent when we first saw them, save their fluttering pennons. 
But in a few minutes, as the reviewing party rode rapidly up, 
every sabre flashed in the air, and the mvisic burst forth, to 
salute a man at the head, Avho, amidst the golden ornaments 
of generals, wore the plain black dress of a civilian. He Avas 
the commander of all — the President of the United States — Wi 
and these generals were only his creatures. That simply 
dressed man, riding bareheaded in courtesy, wielded a more 
imperial SAvay than any monarch in the world. An army of 
near a million was obedient to his Avord. Tavo millions more 



I 



FREDERICKSBURG. 291 

were subject to his call to arms. Yet, God help the President 
of the United States ! For he needs it. He had a careworn 
face, while we knew he had an honest heart. Though a 
mighty army lay there, yet plainly in sight were the hills 
behind Fredericksburg, frowning with Avorks and manned 
Avith enemies, — a section of the thousand miles of frontier in 
which our morning reveille is answered by rebel drums. 

A natural curiosity took us to the brink of the river a mile 
and a half off. The Lacy mansion stands near it, and from 
the terraces of its garden, almost overhanging the narrow 
stream, we looked down into Fredericksburg. An officer 
kindly pointed out the memorable localities. Here was the 
main crossing, just on our right. There the street by Avhich 
our forces advanced. Beyond, the basin into which they en- 
tered. ^And over all, the rebel earthworks which sent death 
to our soldiery. Between us and these works lay the town, 
less shattered than I had expected to find it, — and in some 
of its streets rifle pits were visible. The path worn by the 
rebel sentries one could almost throw a stone upon, and the 
sentinels were walking their posts. AVhere we stood were 
loyal watchmen. The owner of the deserted house is in the 
rebel army ; most of his trees are cut down ; his shrubbery 
is gone ; his garden is a waste ; but what moved me most, 
a child's rocking-horse stood by a door, unharmed in all the 
strife. 

Half a mile back are the ruins of the Philipse mansion. 
The walls remain standing in part, and show that the fire had 
» destroyed a beautiful edifice. It was of brick, nearly cruci- 
form in shape, and of fine proportions. Standing on an 
eminence, it commanded a view of miles of beauty. Desolate 
now, a once happy home. Who can help pitying these 
misguided men ? 



292 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 






Tiu'uing southward we came uear the plain headquarters 
of General Hooker, Avho lives in a tent, as a soldier ought. 
A mile southeast, over roads fenceless, of course, and hard 
to trace, we suddenly come upon the camp of the First 
Massachusetts. For the first time I had the pleasure of 
meeting my excellent brother Cud worth, Avhose hearty wel- 
come was delightful. As long time as we dared remain soon 
passed. Then a mile or more brought us to the Seventeenth 
Maine, who are building an elegant camp of split white oak 
— the best camp I ever saw. The good appearance of the 
men, and the kind hospitality of the officers, made me respect 
my father's native State more than ever. 

It was near sunset, and we had six miles to go, a wide 
creek to ford, a hard road to travel, obscure paths to track out. 
Long before we were at home darkness settled down upon 
us. Passing through lonely valleys, Ave heard the tattoo of 
artillery bugle mellowed by distance, on the one side, and the 
softened drum beat on the other. The robins and blackbirds 
had ceased their day's music. Horses picked their Avay over 
hard corduroy, whose only comfort was that you could not 
sink far in their mud. The last mile was not even corduroy, 
but swamp, and ditch, and brook, which led us to rejoice when 
we came upon our lights just as tattoo w^as advising everybody 
to go to bed. 

We had stopped at only a few camps. But these we 
selected. Everywhere are camps. For prominent lines of 
travel, afe miles upon miles of coi'duroy. It is a vast array. 
As for roads, if the Virginian natives ever return, their high* 
ways will undoubtedly be these Yankee built corduroys. This 
State, if peopled by a decent race, would be a magnificent 
State, after all. But their worn-out farms need Yankee cul- 
ture. Their ignorant population need the Yankee school- 



REVIEW OF THE TWELFTH CORPS. 293 

master. The State needs, in fact, to change hands. The 
negroes themselves would, I am satisfied, be far better prop- 
erty-holders than the late ones ; for so far as I hava seen 
Virginia, after taking oiit the few persons of high culture, the 
average ability, sense, and thrift of tlie ivhite Virginian is 
decidedly below that of the hlark Vii-ginian. 



Stafford Court Hottse, Va., April 15, 1863. 

On Thursday last the Twelfth army corps was reviewed 
by the President. The review on a preceding day of several 
corps together surpassed that of the Twelfth in point of num- 
bers, of course, but not in soldierly characteristics. The 
Twelfth corps. General Banks's old command, — numbered as 
the Eleventh tillafter Antietam, — is unsurpassed in this army. 
At least, so declared the authority Avhich all respect ; who 
also stated that but one other would bear a comparison 
with it. 

The day of review was wonderfully beautiful. The corps 
was ready on the ground at noon precisely, as ordered. Then 
it waited. The President was revicAving the Eleventh corps 
in the morning, and it was half past three when he reached 
ours. I was Avhere I saw him when he approached, and saw 
his suite following. He is a good rider. Mounted on a 
horse with a general's caparisons, he dashed on through 
mud, swamp, and ditches, without the slightest hesitation, 
evidt»itly to the disadvantage of some of his followers. The 
twenty-one guns saluted him, and he rode very rapidly along 
the lines (if " lines " they Avere), while the escort of lancers, 
with their gayly fluttering red, formed three sides pf a square 
around the spot occupied by the President's wife and the 
25* 



294 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIUAN. ^ 

chief military dignities, and in Avhich the President soon 
stationed himself. He was dressed in black, with a curious 
article on his head, the upright part being cylindrical, very 
much like a section of stove pipe, with, a flat roof, and a hor- 
izontal and circular rim at the l»wer part. It must be quite 
stiff, and I should judge, painful to the head. I have heard 
it intimated, however, that such absurd things are quite com- 
mon at the North. 

When the President had taken his position, the corps pre- 
pared to pass in review. The two divisions had been formed 
in two parallel lines, each line consisting of the regiments 
formed by divisions (two company front), and closed in well. 
Suddenly the bugle gave the order, and at once each regi- 
ment, moving at double-quick, changed front. The effect 
was indescribably beautiful. Then the marching ; each reg- 
iment still formed by divisions, moving at quick step around 
the field. The ground was rolling, and the sight of regiments 
disappearing in the hollows, or emerging, Avas picturesque. 
As the consolidated drum corps of each brigade reached the 
President, they Avheeled to the left, and there remained to 
give the " ruffles " as the flag of each regiment was success- 
ively bowed in honor to the chief magistrate. I need not 
say that the beautiful neatness, the perfect lines, and the firm 
and soldierly step of ours received commendation in high 
quarters. I never saw it look better. 

As pageantry, such a review was wonderful. As reality, 
it was the exhibition of qualities for the field of blood. Those 
same regiments must march into deadly combat. Those 
lines will be thinned. Alas ! for the necessity ! but who can 
grudge our country its rights ? Perhaps, before this is prmt- 
ed, the great trial will have passed. Indications, which I 



I 



PREPARATIONS. 295 

better not mention, point to early operations. Movements 
already made are momentons — you Avill have learned then. 

For movement, every soldier, officer, or private is to take 
eight days' rations upon his person. Each enlisted man has 
his complement of sixty rounds of amunitiou, while near re- 
serves will be at hand. No man can " straggle," no man 
can " fall out," without the sui'geon's pass, and then only to 
an ambulance. Sviperfluous blankets, coats, and flannels are 
already sent away ; " throwing aside every weight." A fal- 
terer in battle is to be shot. Division hospitals are arranged 
for, under the care of men already selected, and the corps 
of operators already named. Other surgeons, mentioned by 
name, are to accompany their regiments, choosing sheltered 
places near their own. Men detailed to remove the wound- 
ed are to be distinguished by a green badge on the left breast. 
Never have I seen such perfect organization as this army 
now has. The men are in good spirits also. They know 
that there is a probability of great events, and they feel confi- 
dent of success. 

But to-day it rains, I'ains hai-d. I don't know what effect 
this may have on plans. It may affect them greatly. But 
only for a time. The army is ready. 



296 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER XII. 

TO CHANCELLORVILLE AND RETURN. 

Stafford Court House, May 7, 1863. 

Some eight miles westward from Fredericksburg, and 
about three south of the Rappahannock, is — or was — one 
brick house, occupied by " V. Chancellor," which, with one 
other house, constituted " Chancellorville." The house 
stood by the "plank road" which runs from Fredericksburg 
to Orange Court House, V. Chancellor was postmaster, 
and his total receipts for a quarter of last year, as I found 
by his official report to the confederate postal authorities, 
were $10.75. 

The birds were singing around Chancellorville. Violets 
were smiling in vast abundance. The pine-wood air was fra- 
grant with spring. 

The house is burned. The air is filled with sulphureous 
fire and with thunder. The flowers are wet Avith the blood 
of thousands. But the whippoorwills never stopped their 
mournfvd utterances in the conflict. 

On Monday morning, April 27, our reveille sounded at 
half past three o'clock. The long Avaiting for movement 
was ended. Months of labor had put the army into the 
finest condition. Organization Avas perfect. The com- 
missariat, as it proved, Avould not fail. The hospital de- 



TO CHANCELLORVILLE. 297 

partmeut was admirably prepared. The pioneer corps was 
Avonderfiilly efficient. The plans of the leader had been ma- 
tured at leisure. 

On that beautiful morning our Twelfth corps, General 
Slocum, took the road towards Warrenton, each man carrying 
eight days' rations and sixty cartridges. The Eleventh 
corps, General Howard, followed the Twelfth. Ten or 
twelve miles brought the corps to within a mile of Hartwood 
Church by half past three P. M., and there it bivouacked. 

No drum beat the next morning, but all were quietly 
waked at half past three. Past six o'clock the column moved 
(our regiment at the rear of our division) , the Eleventh corps 
in the advance, on the road toward Kelley's Ford, which 
crosses the Rappahannock some miles above the spot where 
that river receives the waters of its tributary Rapidan. It 
was a wet day, b^t the troops made seventeen miles. Two 
miles from Kelley's Foi'd our corps bivouacked ; while the 
Eleventh, being in advance in its turn, crossed the river on 
pontoons, and our advance cavalry drove in or captured rebel 
pickets. 

On Wednesday morning our corps, starting at daylight, 
moved on over the river, "and passed the Eleventh,^ — the 
Second Massachusetts at the head in the road, flanked by the 
Twenty-seventh Indiana and the Third Wisconsin, on the 
right and left, as skirmishers. The Twenty-seventh Indiana 
and the Second Massachusetts by and by clianged places. 
Through woods and underbrush ours went on, till close to 
Germanna Ford on the Rapidan. At this crossing the rebels 
were building a bridge. They had a small force on the other 
side, with rifle pits, and these Avere surprised. The Third 
Wisconsin moved straight to «the ford, while the Second 
Massachusetts, wheeling to the left, came out on an open 



298 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

height. A few minutes' fire killing some, and our two regi- 
ments having a cross fire on the road by which the rebels must 
leave, white signals fluttered from the rifle pits, and a hun- 
dred and three surrendered, and were ordered to cross the 
river to our side. Our men then forded. The river was 
very high and very swift, and three men of the Twelfth corps 
were drowned. The pioneers of our division built a bridge 
for the remainder of our forces. Our corps bivouacked a 
mile and a half beyond the river ; — that same stream, 
towards which we were moving last August, when we met 
the sad field by Cedar Mountain. 

Thursday was a drizzling day. At eight o'clock the troops 
moved. General Geary, with our Second division in advance. 
Our regiment was the rear guard of our corps. Not far 
from the river the plank road was reached, on which a march 
of twelve miles towards Fredericksburg b^jought the corps to 
near Chancellorville, — where our brigade (at last), under 
General Rogers, turned to the right into the woods, and 
again to the right, and there bivouacked in line of battle, a 
little in advance of the plank road. This evening came an 
order from General Hooker congratulating the Fifth, Elev- 
enth, and Twelfth corps on their operations for the three days, 
which he characterized as " a succession of brilliant achieve- 
ments," and saying that the enemy must " ingloriously fly," 
or " come out from behind his defences and give us battle on 
our OAVU ground, where certain desti'uction awaits him." 

Friday, May 1, Avas a beautiful day. It being "muster 
day," that work was begun as usual. But when it was half 
done in our regiment orders came to move. The result was 
a march of two miles in the Fredericksburg direction. As I 
understand it, this Avas part ©f a demonstration Avhich forced 
the enemy to retire from United States Ford, which I take to 



BATTLE OF CHANCELLORVILLE. 299 

be about ten miles up from Fredericksburg. This movement 
was successful, and other troops were enabled to cross at that 
ford, over which three pontoon bridges were thrown, which 
afterwards became our main channel of communication with 
the north of the river. During the movement just alluded to 
there was sharp musketry on the left, and artillery fire was 
rapid overhead of our brigade from both sides. After a few 
hoiu'S the brigade returned to their old place. The shot here 
fell dangerously, but no active service was required. The 
troops were under arms all night. 

On Saturday morning orders came to intrench. Logs 
were felled and built up breast high, and abatis constructed 
in front, — a work the whole army was engaged in. The 
line as now established was, perhaps, four miles long. The 
Eleventh corps had the right. Unfortunately its right rested 
on no position giving any natural advantages, — abruptly 
ending in accessible ground. The Twelfth corps joined the 
Eleventh on the left of the latter. Another corps, I do not 
know what, rested on the river below. Our line, therefore, 
commenced on the river (that was the left), below United 
States Ford, and ran in a rather irregular course so far# 
as to shoAv a convex front to the enemy. Its weak place 
proved to be the unprotected right flank. 

About half past foiu- P. M., while furious fighting Avas 
going on at the left, it was said that the enemy was retreating. 
A long line of wagons was visible, and some scattering forces. 
Whether this was a ruse or not it acted like one. Orders 
came to the Twelfth corps to advance on the wagons and 
troops. It left its intrenchments, therefore, a very small 
guard remaining with the knapsacks in the line of works, and 
advanced over a mile. Then the noise of battle was heard 
on the extreme right. The Twelfth corps was oi'dered back. 



300 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

There was need of it. The rebels had massed heavy 
forces on the right flank, completely turning it. The cavalry 
outside had given no alarm, when suddenly Jackson opened a 
tremendous fire, enfilading the line of the Eleventh, and then 
poured in his columns. Taken in such way the Eleventh 
could not be relied upon. They gave way. Their general 
succeeded in rallying a small force, but his best brigade had 
been detached, and it was too late to save the line. 

When the Twelfth coi'ps got back to its line most of its 
works were ali'eady in the possession of the enemy. But 
crossing the intrenchments it took position at a right angle to 
them, facing westward. " Stand steady, old Third brigade ; 
stand firm, old Second Massachusetts ; " — was the address of 
the brigadier. Of coui'se the Third brigade would, with 
such regiments as Colonel Colgi'ove's Twenty-seventh Indiana 
and Colonel Hawley's Third Wisconsin, and ours. So stood 
the whole line. The firm front and the tremendous artillery 
fire checked the enemy, Avhile General Sickles's corps attacked 
in another direction. It was now dark. The imminent 
danger of the annihilation of the wing was past, and the rebels 
^ admitted that — with all the damage done — they had failed 
of their main object. A new line for the right was eventually 
established, — that wing swinging back and resting on the 
river above United States Ford, — infinitely stronger than the 
original one, and considerably shorter. The left remained in 
its original position. The hospital of our corps had been re- 
moved from Chancellorville, having been enveloped in a tor- 
nado of missiles, and was taken across the river — the last 
surgeon there being killed at the door of Chancellor house. 
All night firing was going on in every direction. 

Sunday morning the fight grew into a tempest. The Third 
coi-ps, I think, changed position. Some troops ran back over 



BATTLE OF CHANCELLORVILLE. 301 

the Twelfth, and the enemy dashed up, but the Twelfth held its 
line and repulsed the enemy. The rebels attacked furiously, 
but were splendidly met. Of our own brigade, the Second 
Massachusetts and the Third Wisconsin, well mated on many 
a field, were together. The corps had so long a line to oc- 
cupy that there were few reserves, and no second line. Coolly 
and orderly our brigade pressed back the enemy in front of 
it a quarter of a mile. Three rebel lines it broke successively 
in the several hours' steady fighting. In the last, ours came 
against a vSoutli Carolina regiment, said by prisoners to be 
the First. Tliree times the Palmetto flag Avas shot do^vn, but 
was ahvays gallantly raised again. Three times our flag 
changed hands. At last the Palmettoes sullenly yielded. 

Our line was out of ammunition. It sent for more. In 
the mean time the officers took all the remaining ammunition 
from the fallen and distributed it. From the bodies of dead 
or wounded rebels in the ground gained, were cartridges taken 
and returned to the enemy. Then, with nothing left, bayonets 
were fixed, and at " order arms," our men quietly stood until 
the answer came back from high quarters, " I cannot make 
ammunition." The front line was then ordered to retire, -i 
which it did orderly and most bitterly, and ours fell back to 
Chancellorville, losing still by artillery fire, to replenish its 
cartridge-boxes. Thence it was ordered to the cross road 
running to United States Ford, AvhUe the right wing was 
swinging back on the river. 

Then came news that General Sedgwick, with his sepa- 
rated corps, had, in the morning, brilliantly carried the Fred- 
ericksburg heights, which the enemy had greatly weakened 
when they had swung their line around on its right at the 
river, as on a pivot, to confront our main army. Ti-emendous 
firing was going on below, supposed to be an attack on 
26 



302 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Sedgwick in the coming evening, he having been ordered to 
move up and join General Hooker. Tlie night was hideous 
with the sound of battle. After dark, the Twelfth corps was 
sent to the extreme left of the main- army, and rested in 
excellent intrenchments on the river. 

On Monday there was no activity above, except at isolated 
points, at which the rebels Avere easily repixlsed. General 
Sedgwick's fight still continued, and the query was whether 
the enemy had not moved his force against that general, near 
Banks's Ford. Whether so or not we lay idle ; and that gen- 
eral, who had obtained control of that ford, was obliged to 
cross the river. 

When the council of generals was held, I do not know. 
Report said that a majority favored, at first, bold and vigorous 
attack, but that it was finally decided to fall back. This Avas 
indicated, when, on Tuesday morning, the trains were ordered 
back, and did not stop until they were back to Falmouth, or 
to Potomac Creek. The hospitals ^oo were moved. Long 
ambulance trains conveyed their loads to Aquia Creek. Our 
Twelfth corps hospital, in its second position north of the river, 
had already proved insecure. On Monday morning its 
reveille was the landing of .shot and shell in its midst. One 
shot passed through three tents, and killed a wounded man. 
Six or seven men were killed or maimed within a few minutes, 
in its immediate vicinity. One shell killed a rebel prisoner 
near by, and Avounded five more. 

Tuesday night orders came to the front to prepare to retire. 
It Avas not until daylight that the left moved, after passing a 
Avet night in the trenches. Pickets Avere still kept out ; 
artillery posted. No annoyance took place, and the troops 
recrossed at United States Ford, Avhere a tremendous rain 
on the afternoon of Tuesday had already carried aAvay one 
of the three bridofes. 



BAFFLED. 303 

There has been no better fighting in this Avar than in this 
battle by some regiments ; no worse than by some others. 

To my knowledge, there has never been better hospital 
arrangements than those organized by our medical director, 
Surgeon McNulty ; no better hospital than that conducted by 
Surgeon Casey, of the Twentieth Connecticut. The chief 
operator of our brigade. Surgeon Tryford, of the Twenty- 
seventh Indiana, did his work admirably. Coolness, kind- 
ness, and skill did wonders. Our own surgeons. Heath and 
Wightman, answered the most sanguine desires. 

A rainy day, Wednesday, brought us back to our old camp. 
The movement of the army had failed. Up to Saturday it 
was a great success. History records that this army, num- 
bering, according to the official and published report of the 
medical director, one hundred and sixty thousand men, of 
which one hundred and twenty thousand must have been 
effective — magnificently equipped — taking its OAvn time for 
movement — evidently surprising the enemy — with confi- 
dence in its commanding general — with splendid fighting 
qualities — was baffled. Not routed — only baffled. Where 
the fault lies, it is for others who know to say. 

Tery likely there are errors in this hastily written letter. 
But none in the fact that the ai-my moved, faUed, and returned. 



Stafford Court House, Va,, May, 1863. 

We learn from the New York papers that the bulk of our 
army has crossed the Rappahannock, and is following up 
General Lee. Very likely ; but we have not heard it in our 
corps. We learn a good many other things from the papers. 
From one we should judge that only one particular corps 
appears to have engaged in the recent battle ; while from 



304 THE POTOMAC AiSD THE RAPID AN. 

another, it was a wliolly different corps. Now I insist that 
our corps did the best fighting ; but as General Slocum does 
not carry a special repoi'ter with him, as some others do, the 
glorification is less. I remember an account of the battle of 
Cedar Mountain, in which one brigade appeared to have done 

everything; but the date, "General 's headquarters" 

explained the mystery. The fact is, every corps engaged 
did well with the exception of the Eleventh ; and for that 
there are some circumstances which palliate, though not 
really excuse their fault. To their excellent commander 
nobody attributes a fault. I presume that the corps would 
retrieve their laurels in another engagement.* Our Twelfth 
certainly fought magnificently. For hours its front was a 
perfect blaze of fire. Without reserves, with a thin line, 
yet it held at bay the choicest of Jackson's force. Our corps 
is an old friend of Jackson's. General Banks's old force, — 
it met him in the Valley repeatedly. Except near Richmond, 
our corps has been his regular opponent, — always left weaker 
by the powers that be, — who are ordained of God, and 
therefore God bless them. 

The papers say that the enemy's loss was greater than 
ours. They always say so. But this time the rebels rJiist 
have suffered greatly. The way in which it happened, was 
by their pursuing their usual course of bringing up heavy 
masses, trusting to their ability for a rapid deployment as 
needed. This time, our artillery got the range of their 
masses, and made terrible havoc. 

Among their losses seems to be our old opponent, Jackson. 
I well remember the bugbear his name used to be. After 
Bull Run first, Jackson took charge of rebel matters in the 
Shenandoah. During the Avinter we lay at Frederick he 

* It did. At Lookout Mountain it behaved magnificently. 



STONEWALL JACKSON. 305 

was intensely active up and down the river. In the spring- 
he attacked General Banks's force at Winchester, and was 
defeated. We followed up (that is southward) the valley, 
and drove Jackson beyond Harrisburg. From that point 
General Banks most reluctantly retraced his steps in obedi- 
ence to a peremptory order from Washington. Jackson 
eventually folloAved up, heavily reenforced as he could be, 
when General McDowell was prevented from cooperating 
with the army before Richmond. With an overwhelming 
force, Jackson persuaded us to hurry into Maryland. After- 
Avards our corps met his attack at Cedar Mountain. In his 
last action we again encountered him. No man rejoices at 
his death. Pie was a good man, though strangely misled 
by this vagary of state rights ; a man of much prayer and 
Christian experience. A brave, gallant, and chivalric soldier, 
— no stain of crvielty or even* harshness I'ests upon him. 
May God pardon his one fault ! I wish ive had more gen- 
erals like him. 

The Avounded left beyond the Rappahannock have been 
brought over under a flag of truce. Those on our right Aving 
number about a thousand. Rebels there insist that they out- 
numbered us, having been A^ery strongly reenforced. They 
say, too, that the cavalry raid cost them but a slight incon- 
venience, all damages being speedily repaired. They say, 
also, that on the night of our return they Avere moving large 
forces by our extreme right, into the wUderness, west of 
Chancellorville, to retake United States Ford, Avhich, if suc- 
cessful, would haA'e made hard work. Whether so or not. 
General Hooker undoubtedly understood Avhat he was about. 

The losses of our brigade number just about one third of 
all in action. This is paralleled only by our loss at Cedar 
Mountain. 

2G* 



30G THE POTOMAC A>:D the RAPIDAN. 

Our reg'imeut is now in its tliird year of service. May 11, 
18G1, was its nutal daj^, — our mustering in dating from that, 
although the field officers were not commissioned until later 
in the month. Colonel Gordon had received direct authority 
from the war department at Washington to raise a three 
years' regiment, and Avas the first to undertake it. Our date 
of muster as recorded probably gives us the priority of all 
the three years' regiments, — while some companies were 
full in April, even. 



Stafford Court House, Va., May 20, 1863. 

CriLOROFOKM is a blessed thing. Not but that sulphuric 
ether is good. But here they use chloroform, to the exclusion 
of ether. At home, I believe it is the other way. Divers 
fatal cases supposed to result from the use of chloroform 
were reported, I remember, and people Avere afraid of it. 
But I have repeatedly asked experienced surgeons about it, 
and have uniformly been told that they have neither seen nor 
heard of a single case of injury from the use of chloroform 
in the army. It takes very much less bulk of chloroform 
than of ether to produce the requisite insensibility, and less 
time to secure the desired condition ; and the patient comes 
out of it much better. So they use chloroform here. 

But one cannot look, after a battle, on anossthetics, AAdthout 
rejoicing. They spare the terrible pain. They disarm the 
fear of the knife. They prevent the groans Avhich AA^ould 
terrify those about to take their turn. They place the part 
at the entire disposal of the surgeon, and enable him to per- 
form a better operation, without haste, without disturbance 
from struggles ; and to venture on delicate but needful Avork, 
otherwise impossible. 



AQUIA CREEK. 307. 

I have thought of these things repeatedly, in Avitnessing 
terrible operations. I thought of them at Aquia Creek, the 
last time I was there, — whence these paragraphs. J^'or 
they use a good deal of chloroform at the never idle tables 
thei'e. 

Aquia Creek landing is about eight miles from this place, 
or, vice versa, according to your estimate of local im- 
portance. Roads which are mixed, — part dirt, part cor- 
duroy, part stumps, part gullies, part nothing, take you 
there ; about a hundred of them go there, from which you 
can choose ; or you can make a new one. There is nothing 
special on the way except dead horses. Two or three miles 
from the landing you catch a glimpse of water, but lose it 
again. Farther on, you come in sight of several fortifica- 
tions, between two of which you pass, and soon stand on the 
brow of a height, from which there is one of the prettiest 
views imaginable. The broad Potomac stretches up and 
down, dotted with white sail or the puff of steamer. The 
Maryland woods are dark on the far off shore. The wide 
creek is hardly separated from the lordlier river by a long, 
narrow, green point ; and down below you are the sombre- 
roofed government buildings hardly lifted from the water, 
Avith two causeways, one for Avagon, one for rail, crossing the 
Avct lands betAveen upland heights and AAdiarves. It is worthy 
of a painter. AVhat a pity it is in Virginia ! 

Aquia Creek landing ought to be an important place. The 
terminus of a line of steamers from Washington, and the 
starting-point of raihvay to Richmond, — in time of peace it 
is a transition centre on the great line of Northern and 
Southern travel. It would be something, but it is in Vir- 
ginia ! That eminent State, in AAdiich "Wise said, the poor 
farmer chases a stump-tailed steer through a barren ten acre 
lot to get a tough beefsteak. 



308 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

But my interest in Aquia centres, not in its little city of 
government slianties, nor its piles of supplies ; but in some 
tents on the airy height half a mile back. They are the^ 
tents of the hospital of the Twelfth army corps. Hither were 
sent the sick prior to our recent movement. And hither, oi 
return, flowed in the stream of wounded men. Hundreds 
upon hundreds have been sent from them northward, but still 
seven hundred remain. Dr. Goodman is at the head, with 
two surgeons and ten assistant surgeons. Our corps took 
into the held between nine and ten thousand men ; it lost in 
killed and wounded three thousand one hundred and forty- 
three. Our division (the corps has two) lost one thousand 
six hundred and iifty-nine, — General Williams's hardened 
troops. Think of this when you read certain newspaper 
accounts which seem to make out that General Sickles's 
corps did the brunt of the fighting. When a corps loses one 
third in a fair, stand-up fight, without flinching, you may let 
that corps down as vetei^an, And when you want fighting 
done, call on General Williams's division, — the best, stur- 
diest, toughest division in the army. " Who are those 
devils with red stars on their caps ? " asked some rebel pris- 
oners. The red stars signify our division. Even Carleton, 
in his most admirable account of the battle, makes Captain 
Best to be chief of artillery to General Sickles ; whereas, he 
is that same to our corps. General Slocum's ; and it was our 
forty pieces, supported by our infantry, whose horrible fire 
made such havoc in Jackson's columns. Our corps breasted 
the wave of the fleeing Eleventh ; ours made an impenetra- 
ble wall of fire on Sunday, and then stood with fixed bay- 
onets and without a cartridge till regularly relieved, while 
the broken enemy dared not advance. 

But, ah me, the hospital at Aquia shows the cost, besides 



IN THE HOSPITAL. 309 

the nameless graves at Chancellorville. There is every kind 
of Avouncl, from simple flesh hm-t to shattered limbs or pierced 
trunk. The poor fellows are lying on beds made by filling 
large new bed-sacks with the best of straw. Some have 
frames above them, from which are cords running over pul- 
leys to hold in easy position the hurt limbs. The tents are 
well open to the air, and are not crowded. Cook tents are 
at proper distances. Nurses take care each of a certain 
number of patients. Government furnishes supplies liber- 
ally, and the stores of* the invaluable Sanitary Commission 
seem exhaustless. 

Under an a'W'ning is the operating table. Experienced 
men work unweariedly, quietly, and calmly. They are a 
blessing from God. As to unnecessary operations, — none 
can operate but mien specially designated, whose characters 
are above such suspicion. 

As I arrived, there Avas a man upon the table etherized. 
It was one of ours. A bad wound in the thigh required re- 
section. He soon came out from the influence of the chloro- 
form, and looking up, his fii'st words were, " How do you 
do, chaplain?" He was a brave soldier. 

It is lonesome for the men. Away from home, some never 
to see home again, wearing out the tedious days and nights, 
they are glad to see a friend's face. On Monday, there were 
three of us to see our men, — our surgeon, a captain, and 
myself. We made a day of it. As we Avere returning, 
" This has been a good day," said the captain. 

It is remarkable how cheerfully, all things considered, they 
bear their lot. Here is one almost gone Avith consumption ; 
he has but few days. Here, one shot through the lungs. 
Here, one Avith the stump of a, leg, and very far gone from 
past hardship. Here, one with a bullet-hole through his 



310 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

head. Yet they do not murmur. They are all ready for 
religious advice. The men seem generally more anxious 
about their friends' feelings than about themselves. 

I was to write to the friends of one.. He called me back. 
" Chaplain, be sure and tell mother not- to worry ! " 

Another had been reported dead, but he had been found 
alive, a prisoner, and sent back to us. 

" I wish they knew at home that I was living," said he. 

" They do," I answered ; "I telegraphed the very day it 
was knoAvn." * 

" Thank you, thank you," said he ; " because mother 
must have been feeling so bad. " 

On Monday there were marks of the labors of the Chris- 
tian Commission the day before. I was very glad of them ; 
glad for the sake of our men. There is room enough for the 
Commission ; room in plenty. They find it, they tell me, 
not very practicable to go in action, where recognized officers 
can ; but in such a place as our corps hospital, they are just 
the thing. I cannot be very often there to see our own men, 
nor other chaplains to see theirs ; there are regiments repre- 
sented there who have no chaplains ; there is no hospital 
chaplain. I rejoice that good rhen can be there. Possibly 
not all the plans may be wise ; perhaps not all the men are 
judicious ; but the Commission has good men, trying to do 
good, I know. Mr. Alvord's work is different from theirs, 
and cannot be spared. The Tract Society at New York, also, 
has plenty of room. Bring on all the helpers. 

One of our men told me, by the way, in detail of hard- 
ships, how one man ministered to them while in the hands 
of the rebels ; how he spared no labor ; cooked for them ; 
got some slight shelter for them ; comforted them. My 
informant thinks that lives were saved by that man, whom 



TRADING AT AQUIA CHEEK. 311 

he believed to be the chaplain of the Twelfth New Hamp- 
shire, reported a prisoner. I doubt not it was he, our brother 
Ambrose. He has earned a gratitude never to be forgotten, 
certainly by some of ours. 

I was going to speak of an hour at the Landing. Of 
the outrageous imposition of the newspaper sellers, who 
charge ten cents for a daily, retailing for five in Washington, 
from which place the scoundrels come in a few hours, and 
/vee of expense. Of the lemonade you look at — bvit don't 
drink if yoti are wise — at ten cents a glass, the net profit on 
which I found by an arithmetical calculation to be exactly 
nineteen hundred per cent. Of the soda-water — pah ! Of 
the stationery stand, whose note-paper is fifty cents a quire, 
worth literally eighteen. Of the trashy publications on the 
counters. Of the eating house where you pay a dollar for a 
mean dinner. ( Tl^e dined with the surgeon, and had butter ! 
As soon as I saw it I knew it was butter, from impressions 
indelibly made in childhood.) I began Avith alluding to chlo- 
roform. Chloroform has seized the consciences of the whole 
villanous pack of traders there. They took the vapor easy. 
They are completely under its influence. They stay under 
it perfectly. I sliould like to be provost marshal there for 
just half an hour, with charge of the rascally traders who 
are cheating the crowd of soldiers thereabouts out of their 
hard earnings. I would amputate their every stock in trade, 
and then relieve the vagabonds of their anaesthetic slumber 
by planting every fellow of them ten feet deep in dock mud. 
— I Avas going to say all this, but as there is no room I will 
not. 

We are having good weather now, and of course our 
usual religious worship. 



312 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



Stafford Court House, Va., June 5, 1863. 

I HAVE omitted to write. But loss is slight. Little 
has occurred. Even now one gathers up only " odds and 
ends," of not much interest, save a tremendous cannonade 
going on all day in the direction of Fredericksburg, whose 
import we are yet ignorant of. 

In common with probably most regiments we have changed 
camps. In common newspaper style of late, I should say 
that " We have moved towards the enemy ! " So we have — 
an eighth of a mile ! So did General Hooker move " nearer 
to Washington," as by the papers, — moving several rods ! 
At least one half of the current reports as to facts or feelings 
here are false. Old camps become unhealthy. The army 
has been in those about us at least six months. It was time 
to move. 

We have not a man in our regimental hospital. A few 
are sick in quarters, but none severely. 

The cannonading to-day may signify something. Yes- 
terday morning we were called up at four A. M., to be ready 
to move immediately. Tents were struck. Goods and chat- 
tels all packed. Horses saddled. Then we waited for orders. 
And waited. They came in the forenoon, — "to water the 
horses, but not unharness them." Then we waited again. 
Orders came towards night, — permission to pitch again ! 
Very pleasant — to stay waiting in a hot sun all day, merely 
because somebody perverted a simple order to be " under 
arms " into " breaking up camp," before it reached us. How- 
ever, three days' rations are kept constantly on hand, which 
is very judicious, as we are in the most exposed part of the 
line. 

One matter I ought to refer to particularly. It is the 



THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 313 

value of the Sanitary Commission. The good it does is 
perfectly marvellous. With its work thoroughly systematized, 
it seems omnipresent. In the recent operations I do not 
know what would have been done Avithout the Commission. 
A few hours only, after the Sunday battle, nourishing food 
was cooking at our general hospital. " Where did this come 
from?" "The Sanitary." Delicacies, even, tempted the 
appetite. "Where from?" "The Sanitary." The Com- 
mission is really doing an immense work, often noiseless, but 
very effectual. Its agents and inspectors are everywhere. 



Salem, Mass., June 16, 1863. 

I WROTE the above in an interval between two " intermit- 
tents." Since then — on the next afternoon, our regiment 
was selected as one of six or seven tried bodies to form 
part of General Pleasanton's expedition across the Rappa- 
hannock. I cannot tell about that movement, for I was help- 
lessly sick when it left ; and before it returned two or three 
surgeons agreed that the sooner I found my native State the 
better. So, for five days I was on the road home — of which 
journey I should like to write my impressions when stronger. 

Nor can I record anything of the current movements. 
Lee's advance, expected before, has taken place. O, that I 
had health, to be with ours. It is terribly hard to be sub- 
missive to the lot of uselessness at such a time. 

I doubt not that Lee will do some harm. But I cannot be- 
lieve that he will permanently reap anything but disaster. I 
caution aU not to be excited by newspaper reports. Last fall I 
was in Pope's army. When files of newspapers at last came, 
it was strange how rumors most untruthful had daily excited 
27 



314 THE POTOMAC AND THE R-APIDAN. 

the public mind. Now, — trust ! We have a gallant army, 
a noble cause — and God. 



Dover, N. H., June 30, 1863. 

Nothing could have induced me, I think, to write now, 
but the desire to relieve the anxieties which the whirlwind of 
attack on the Ambulance System of our army has created. 

I was completely astonished on learning the condition of 
our ambulance system. I had occasion once or twice to crit- 
icise it myself, but the evils were minor ones, and have been 
corrected. I had the pleasure once of nearly choking a driv- 
er, besides well nigh shaking him out of his boots. But that 
the whole set needed a similar operation, I was unaware — 
till now. I thought Senators Wilson and Sumner to be really 
humane men, and my idea was suppoi'ted by vai'ious acts of 
theirs — many of them private — which seemed to evince 
ready and kind hearts. Little did I think they needed to " be 
shot through the chest and jolted over a corduroy road, with 
a drunken driver," &c., &c., &c. I imagined that our sur- 
geons and generals — many of the former of whom I know, 
and some of the latter — were the same kind-hearted, honor- 
able, human beings they were at home. But now they seem 
to be brutes. Ambulance drivers I should have considered 
to be usually respectable people, especially as many of them 
I could mention from Massachusetts are thought to be, in 
their own toAvns, men of good character and often of Chris- 
tian influence ; men ventui'ing into the heavy fire ; men whom 
I have seen quiet when the very horses in the vehicle were 
struck by balls ; men whom I have seen lifting the wounded 
as tenderly as you would handle a babe of days ; men Avith 



THE AMBULANCE CORPS. 315 

whom 1 would have trusted myself implicitly until I found 
that they are " miserable, drunken -wretches." I thought 
we had an ambulance system. But I find that " vain appeals 
have been made to the President" to establish one ; that " Con- 
gi-ess, General Halleck, Stanton," have been uselessly begged 
"to do something, and all in vain ; " that both our Massa- 
chusetts senators are dumb, or in open opposition to all action 
in the premises ; I see that we — the people — are " to write 
to the authorities, and demand action : " to " cut this article 
from the paper . . . and send it ; " to " get the pamphlet and 
send that ; " to " call meetings, and circulate petitions : " to 
" overwhelm the powers that be with your importunity," &c. 

What for? Because " on the battle-field, and from battle- 
field to hospital they (our wounded) depend on chance com- 
ers." Because " there is no system, no provision worthy the 
name." And it is triumphantly asked if an ambulance corps 
" is practicable there (in Europe) why is it not practicable 
here ? " 

I respect motives. I reverence a stricken father's anguish. 
But I have too much regard also for the thousands of suffer- 
ing wives and mothers not to relieve their anxieties somewhat 
by saying emphatically that the statements quoted in this last 
paragraph are simply the grossest errors. I judge, it is true, 
from the working in one corps, but I am confident as to the 
others also, in the army of Virginia. 

True, there was one occasion, last September, when cer- 
tain barbarities were witnessed in an ambulance train sent 
from Washington to Manassas. I judge that every one of 
those drivers ought to have been shot. I know that, in our 
corps, if such men existed, they would have altered their con- 
duct, or enough of them would have been shot on the spot to 
reduce the others to obedience. But in reference to that case. 



316 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAFIUAN. 

remember the train was started under very peculiar circum- 
stances ; that its drivers were '"' men of the lowest character, 
taken from the purlieus of Washington," which our regular 
drivers never are ; that this Avas only one case, Avhich I know, 
personally, not to be a fair representation of the whole sys- 
tem ; and that since then an entire modification of the system 
has taken place. The system has been improved. In our 
corps, and I suppose in the Potomac army as a whole, it is 
just what (as to plan) is asked for. 

Let VIS look at our system. " 

At the liead of the army of Virginia is a medical direct- 
or, who is virtually a medical autocrat. To each corps there 
is a medical director. To each division in a corps there is 
a medical director. The senior surgeon in each brigade is 
acting medical director of the brigade. And to each regi- 
ment there is, or should be, one surgeon and two assistant 
surgeons. By the superior surgeons, the directors, there is 
constant oversight and care. 

Now besides, there is an Ambllance Corps. It is under 
the general charge of the medical director of the army 
corps. All the ambulances were long ago taken from regi- 
ments and put under the charge — not of quartermasters — 
but of the medical powers. Each ambulance has its driver, 
not taken from " purlieus," but permanently detailed from the 
various regiments, and these ambulances and their di'ivers 
are under the control of military officers, who are also per- 
manently detailed. I cannot teU just now accurately every 
feature of the plan above brigades ; but to our brigade therdM 
are (if I remember accurately) thirty (odd) ambulances — ■ 
six or seven averaging to a regiment.* These are kept to- 
gether in quiet times. There is in charge a lieutenant per- 
manently assigned to that work, well instructed himself, and 



THE AMBULANCE CORPS. 317 

rigid in his requiremeuts. The brigadier himself cannot 
take one of those ambulances for a moment — so exclusively 
are they under the control of the medical authorities. I had 
occasion to need one lately. It had to be obtained by a. 
requisition made by our surgeon, and approved by our brig- 
ade surgeon, when the lieutenant sent it instantly. Not an 
ambuhince can be used except to carry sick or wounded. I 
have seen these ambulances " parked." They were in per- 
fect order. On the road the other day, when being trans- 
ported, in sickness, I needed water. It was immediately 
drawn — good water — from the well-filled keg. The men 
employed are under strict discipline, and would be punished 
for ill conduct. As they are assigned to the one duty, they 
iniderstaud their business. In addition to the lieutenant 
there are all the sergeants he needs ; and if a train moves either 
the lieutenant or a sergeant (according to its size) goes with 
it, with military authority. The medical director has entire 
control, and the ambulance coi'ps is really just as distinct a 
body as the artillery. 

Now, further. In case of expected movements, the corps 
medical director issues his plans, to which the corps com- 
mander orders obedience. One surgeon is named to remain 
till further oi'ders, the superintendent of a corps general 
hospital, should one be established. Another, to be its clerk. 
One surgeon from each brigade is detached as chief operator, 
and four or five as assistant operators. Others are ordered 
to report for general duties. The hospital attendants of every 
regiment are to repair immediately to the corps hospital, in 
case of action. Certain surgeons are ordered to remain near 
their regiments. The ambulances are stationed by personal 
order of the corps medical director. And — mind this — 
ten men from each regiment, previously selected by the sur- 
27* 



318 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

geon of the regiment, as suitable men — have the simple and 
sole duty of removing the wounded from the field of battle 
even during the engagement. These are picked men ; they 
constitute a distinct corps ; they can do no other duty, and 
each wears a conspicuous green badge on his breast. They 
use the " stretchers " which go with every ambulance, and 
convey the wounded to tlie ambulances stationed near. 

Now, what more complete " ambulance corps " can exist, I 
cannot see. The only variation would be to enlist men spe- 
cially for this corps, instead of taking them from regiments, 
but that would not necessarily be an improvement. They 
noio remain permanently detached, unless some special reason 
should occur for dismissing a man. They camp together ; 
they are under no regimental control Avhatever. And by 
selecting from men already in service, there is opportunity 
for choosing those who are known to be specially adapted to 
the service wanted. Such men were taken from our regiment 
— with a sei-geant ; and to those men's care I would trust my 
life. Possibly it might be better that the ten " stretcher- 
bearers " should be removed from the regiments, but as for 
the most of the time they would have nothing to do, it is 
questionable. 

Now, on a march, the ambulances, under charge of their 
officer, follow the corps ; and one ambulance goes with the 
regiment often, for special and sudden use. If the surgeon 
of the regiment finds a man actually unable, from illness, to 
go further, he gives him a certificate (printed blanks he keeps 
with him) which entitles him to fall out till the ambulances 
come up, and to a seat when they do come up. 

But how this system works is the next point. It works 
tvell. Not perfectly, for we have neither omnipotence, omni- 
presence, nor infinite goodness, in either surgeon, ambulance 



THE AMBULANCE CORPS. 319 

driver, or hospital attendant. But it works better and better. 
At any rate it is, in substance, the system used in " every 
army of Europe." It has no defects which I can see would 
be removed if all critics had carte blanche to devise a system ; 
for its defects are mainly the incidents of frailty in man, not 
in plan. At Chancellorville it worked finely. Men were 
left on the field ; but it was because the field passed into the 
enemy's hands. The battle of Sunday was not ended when 
our corps hospital was reestablished north of the river (driven 
there by previous artilleiy fire) , when tents were up — when 
cooks were at work — when operating surgeons were at their 
task — andj^ve hundred men from our one corps were there, 
many lying on beds of boughs, each tent under a siu-geon's 
watch and care — and the whole was as quiet, as calm, as neat, 
as systematic as though the enemy's balls were not to crash 
through its trees next morning, and require another move. 

Possibly I have mistaken in thinking our well-regulated 
plan to be general. Possibly Dr. McNulty and Dr. Chappel, 
our corps and division medical directors, are exceptions in 
skill and sense. Possibly the splendid Twelfth corps, with its 
noble young general, is as much a model in hospital matters 
as it stands preeminent on the field of battle. But I do not 
believe that other corps are far behind. I tell you, anxious 
reader, that while your and our wounded must suffer, cases 
of peculiar neglect are extremely rare — at least in our corps. 
And I assure my friends that precisely the plan demanded 
Avas established months ago ; I cannot say that there will 
ahuays be Avater in the ambulance kegs ; men are sometimes 
neglectful. Nor that ambulances will always be where the 
changing tide of battle makes them needful. But great care 
is exercised to insure what is wanted. I bear my testimony 
to the general skill and kindness of the sursreons. I have 



320 THE rOTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

been with many of them in bivouac where the slumber was 
by moments only ; with them as they were tenderly handling 
the wounded.; with them to see their unselfish devotion to 
their duty. Of our regiment one of our sufgeons received an 
enemy's ball ; and one has just laid down his life, a sacrifice 
to his unremitting labors. But surgeons cannot do every- 
thing. Be just to them. It may be that " three staff officers 
.... thought our wounded ought to be seen to, many of 
Avhom they believed were still lying on the field." But why 
append the exclamation point, when on referring to the pam- 
phlet you find that what they "thought" was that " a flag 
of truce ought to be sent over the river to see to our wounded, 
many of whom," &c., that is, these wounded were in the 
enermjs hands, and these staff officers had no more power or 
right to " see " to them than they had to desert. 

I say these things, not because our system answers every 
want, but because it is just what is asked for ; because it is 
not the system of the days of Manassas, when each regiment 
had, or pretended to have, its own ambulances, but the sys- 
tem in which avc have a consolidated corps, as do the French ; 
and because I feel that the anxieties of numberless hearts 
need this reply. And as I write it in a state of suffering, 
with the certainty that I shall feel the labor for days, I ask 
that its motive be understood. 



Park Barracks, New York, August 24, 1863. 

Of all the strange vicissitudes of the Second, it seems the 
queerest to find ourselves suddenly taken from the Rappahan- 
nock, and planted in the middle of New York town. 

After a tedious illness and slow recovery, after losing the 



RETURN TO THE ARMY. 321 

historical days of Gettysburg, after restlessly mourning over 
the gallant sufierers whom I could not see, and the gallant 
dead none shall see here, — I seized the earliest feeling of 
elasticity as the occasion of return. Barring the friends at 
home, — the good father and mother, the patient |vife, and 
(without the slightest prejudice) altogether the finest five-year- 
old girl who ever loved a papa dearly, or whose mischief a 
papa ever thought was the perfection of genius — home has 
fewer attractions in these times than the spots where history 
is made. How the able-bodied young men whom I saw could, 
endure the littleness of trade or profession, when their coun- 
try's life or death is the question of the age, I could not, I 
cannot understand. 

Not fuUy well when I left home, every day's journey made 
me stronger. The beautiful trip by the Fall River line, which 
I take to be the only decent way of going to New York, Avith 
its lovely evening quiet, and its charming morning approach 
to the city ; the horrible New Jersey passage ; the detestable 
horse-car jaunt through Philadelphia's spectral-looking, 
staring, white-shuttered streets ; the miserable course to 
Washington, through which I managed to sleep ; even the 
usual imposition of hack drivers in Washington — all added 
health and strength. And when the steam engine puffed 
away towards the Rappahannock, I found I was well again. 

Down by Kelley's ford, on the Rappahannock river, was 
the Twelfth corps. I left it before its long and rapid marches 
to Pennsylvania ; before its invincible stand on the right at 
Gettysburg, where Ewell in vain hurled his masses against 
the star-marked veterans of Slocum. Now, after renewing 
its historic gloiy, the corps had got back to its old river. 
How pleasant it was to meet friends, and to hear words of 
welcome, and to have hearty handshakes, I need not say. 



322 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

But on Saturday, August 15, came orders. And on the 
next nionuDg various regiments were on the road. Picked 
troops were taken. From our brigade, the Second Massa- 
chusetts, the Third "Wisconsin, and the Twenty-seventh 
Indiana, who, witli eight others form another division, were 
placed tmder command of our own soldierly Brigadier Gen- 
eral Ruger. All superfluous baggage was left behind. Five 
or six miles up the river is Rappahannock station. There 
the troops were placed on board of four or five long trains, 
and at night Ave found ourselves at Alexandria to take boats. 

But the boats were not there. So we were turned into a 
field, or an empty square rather. That night I tried bivouac 
again, and with decided success. We waited there until 
Wednesday. 

It is a duty to be resigned to the will of Providence. If 
Providence should cast my lot in the detestable city of 
Alexandi'ia, I should try to be resigned; but it would- take 
grace. Nasty, shiftless, shabby is it for the most part, with 
here and there a decent street dropped in by accident, and 
evidently wondering how it got there, — that is Alexandria. 
While we were there, it seemed as if all the boys and women, 
and a good share of the men, had turned pedlers. The 
camps were inundated with them. Everything that a soldier 
could be tempted to buy, so far as Alexandria could furnish 
it, was oifered. I will say for Alexandria that these women 
pedlers were generally very well behaved ; but some of the 
articles sold were mean enough to counterbalance. Shoe- 
blacks were thick as bees ; and it was very amusing to see 
the dignity with which our privates would employ some of 
them in cleaning up equipments. Ice cream was abundant, 
and afforded the novel sight of being eaten by the jiint. Bad 
whiskey showed itself to be in Alexandria, but, on the whole, 
made no great way. 



TO NEW YORK, 323 

We were heartily glad when we got out of the dirty spot 
where we bivouacked. I do not think that we liked city life 
at all. It may have charms, but we did not see them. 
"Wednesday evening we marched through town, and into ves- 
sels. The three regiments of our brigade, Avith the hundred 
and something Ohio, (I never remember regimental numbers 
so high), were put on board the Merrimack. 

Remaining at the Avharf that night, about six o'clock the 
next, morning the boat started. Rather crowded for accom- 
modations, of course, but on deck it was delightful. The 
trip doAATi the Potomac needs to be tried, not described. The 
Potomac is a beautiful river to steam down, though u^y to 
live near. Fort Washington, Mount Yernon, Aquia Land- 
ing — showing only the blackened ruins of its former busy 
haunts — were the only noticeable points, until, at the mouth 
of the river. Point Lookout showed its hospital buildings and 
its grove of green trees. Methinks the sweetest spot for a 
hospital must be there. Then into the magnificent Chesa- 
peake, and all the evening, to a late hour, the beaiitiful moon- 
light silvered the waves ; the cool salt air refreshed the men 
of the sultry Rappahannock ; and snatches of music from 
the band, or songs from the musical, enlivened the hours. 
That is, on deck. Below it was hot and close. 

I did not see the junction of the Bay and the Ocean. In 
fact, I was asleep. It was in the middle of the night. But 
the morning brought evidences that we Avere on the ocean. 
No land AA'as in sight. The Avaters had a peculiar smell. 
Divers persons were intently looking over the sides into the 
sea. They AA^ere not sick, O no ! There Avere feAver at the 
officers' breakfast than one Avould have imagined. Some left 
the table rather suddenly. Cigars seemed neglected. Din- 
ner Avas less attended to than Avas formerly the case in our 



324 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

brigade. Some seemed quite indifferent to all considerations 
except those which let them lay quiet. But the Merrimack 
kept steadily ploughing on. The Erricson appeared, (a sister 
transport), but the Merrimack walked by. And so on until 
Saturday morning, when the breakfast table was crowded 
again, and boots were blacked, and white collars appeared 
once more. We were nearing New York — our destination 
which we had suspected while at Alexandria, but Avhich gov- 
ernment, for a rarity, had kept concealed until we Avere on 
board. 

The entrance to New York harbor from the sea was new 
to me ; but how beautiful it seemed I cannot tell. Up be- 
tween the forts, by lovely Staten Island, through fleets of 
white- winged vessels, and to the anchorage off Governor's 
island, the panorama was perfect. And after General Ruger 
had reported to General Canby, and orders came, then we 
landed at the foot of Canal Street, North River side, and left 
the Merrimaclc. A very comfortable vessel is that iron steam- 
er, built by Harrison Loring, Boston, a year or two ago — 
of two thousand tons, or to be exact, one thousand nine hun- 
dred and ninety-one and one fifth ; with two low pressure en- 
gines, and seventy-four life preservers ; intended for the Bos- 
ton and New Orleans line, but does not run there ; and 
commanded by a gentleman, viz.. Captain Sampson, of Ded- 
ham, Massachusetts. 

So we marched, without music, to BroadAvay, and into 
City Hall Park, by the same gate we entered over two years 
ago, and stacked arms on the same spot, and in the same line 
we did then. But the difference ! Then a thousand and one 
strong ; now a very few hundreds. But they are the men of 
Winchester, of Cedar Mountain, of Antietam, of Chancel- 
lorville. and of Gettysburg ; and if the good people of New 



NEW YORK. 325 

York want help in maintaining order, these men are as will- 
ing to fight their country's enemies North as South — but 
they fire bullets, not blank cartridges, as those battle-fields 
could testify. 

But though we are in New York, and just opposite the 
Astor House, and a stone's throw from the City Hall, and 
oppressed by the horrible noises of this babel, we are in 
camp. That is, the men are in barracks ; the ofiicers in 
tents. Guards are as strict as ever. "We cannot run round 
the city. A battery, also, is our nearest neighbor ; and we 
are on a war footing. One New Y'ork paper says we have 
tents, each capable of containing forty men ; as each tent is 
but nine feet square, you will allow for a slight exaggera- 
tion. 

Yesterday we had our usual Sunday services, and it seemed 
a luxury. Most of the city churches are " closed, they say. 
Ergo, there is more religion in the army than in the town. 
Without pleasantry, I believe there is. In the afternoon I 
obtained permission to go to a veiy pleasant service at Colo- 
nel Howe's New England Rooms for soldiers. There, too, I 
saw some disabled and sick Massachusetts soldiers. 

Now we are in a Northern city. But there are some things 
I want to write. Some woi-k of our brigade and regiment 
at Gettysburg. I have picked up what ought to be chron- 
icled ; for when a regiment loses a huudi'ed and thirty odd 
out of less than three hundred, and presses on and fights on 
without a wavering, it ought to be recorded. Of some hos- 
pital doings and relief, I will write also. I want also to 
describe Colonel Howe's admirable relief rooms here. And 
perhaps long before I do either, we may be confronting Gen- 
eral Lee again. 

28 



326 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

City Hall Park, New York, August 23, 1863. 

Had there been any very active service for ours in this 
city, you would have heard of it. Guard duty, of course, 
goes on as usual. Drill has been recommenced. Evening 
parade has become quite an institution, gathering a huge 
crowd as anything will here. The crowd seems to admire 
the Second. A few nights ago, the perfect movement of our 
regiment extorted a sudden and general applause. They even 
said " that beats the Seventh," i. e.. New York, which is 
considerable for New Yorkers. But another rather sulkily 
said, " they have spent all their time in drill." Correct — 
except a few little episodes like Gettysburg. 

Yesterday we had public service. In the afternoon the 
chaplain conducted worship at the New England Relief 
Rooms. We also had for members a good supply of reading 
matter from the Tract Society, 150 Nassau Street, which lib- 
erally offers every help — and a bundle of papers from the 
Evangelist office — all of which Avere rapidly taken by our 
men and those of Wisconsin. The New York Bible Society 
has also re-supplied us with Testaments. Yesterday, indeed, 
we had extra evidence of the kindness of friends, in the 
sudden appearance of a minister to preach to us — especially 
mentioning that there were Massachusetts troops here. We 
were very grateful, but our Colonel happened to think that 
the regimental chaplain was sufficiently qualified for that 
duty. In another place, however, a chaplain informed me 
that he was superseded. The Third Wisconsin, brave com- 
rades of ours in many a field, also preferred to attend our 
worship, rather than have an independent meeting. The 
presence of quite a number of wives and friends who had 
come to New York to see their beloved ones, added greatly 



RECAPITULATION. 327 

• 

to the interest. And there is always something peculiarly 
interesting in seeing the men present in full ranks, with offi- 
cers all there, save Avhen on duty, and with the colonel at 
the head, showing his regard by example, for the worship of 
God ; and to think, too, that these are the men who have 
borne the brunt of battle with undaunted heroism. Show me 
the parish equal to this ! 

I hope it will not be out of place if I go back in time to 
record the movements of this regiment, and thus mainly of 
the corps, prior to Gettysburg ; especially as 1 have seen no 
public statement of the marches of the troops while General 
Hooker was moving parallel with Lee. I do not doubt that 
when history is Avintten, it will be found that General Hook- 
er's movement from Falmouth to Gettysburg (or near), all 
the time watching Lee, interposed suitably between Wash- 
ington and the enemy, yet ready to confront him whenever 
Lee should finally strike — will be written as most masterly. 

Our regiment was one of a few picked bodies selected to 
accompany a cavalry expedition across the Rappahannock, 
leaving camp June 6, about evening. Seriously ill at that 
time, I was left behind. But I have procured a record of 
events. They marched that night about fifteen miles, arriving 
near Spott Tavern about two A. M., where it rested until 
nine A. M, Then turning southwest it reached Bealston 
Station about six P. M. — about sixteen miles — having 
made thirty-one miles in the twenty-four hours. Bivouacking 
there, — hid in the woods — for a day, — the regiment moved 
the next evening — artillery, cavalry, and infantry, meeting 
about ten miles north of Beverly Ford. At the gray of dawn, 
sharpshooters were selected to go forward to clear the Ford 
— but the enemy had no infantry there, and our cavalry 
crossing, was instantly followed by the Third Wisconsin and 



328 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

Second Massachusetts. Colonel Davis, commanding the 
cavalry, charged up to and over a barricade where the enemy 
had dismounted as well as mounted cavalry. He drove them 
in fine style. At that barricade, the gallant Davis, one of 
the best and noblest officers in the army, received the wound 
of which he died in the afternoon. The infantry moved up, 
and its skirmishers drove the enemy, with sharp firing, out 
of a wood which the enemy held. Here the troops remained 
until about eleven A. M., — the enemy tryhig to turn first 
our right and left, in order to gain the Ford, but without 
success, and with a good deal of loss, — both sides bringing 
artillery into play in addition to both infantry and cavalry. 

About eleven A. M. the whistling of cars from the Cul- 
pepper direction indicated the coming up of rebel reenforce- 
ments. Artillery firing was soon heard in the rebel rear. 
General Gregg had crossed at Kelly's Ford, moved to Brandy 
Station, drove Stuart and captured his headquarters, finding 
papers which indicated Lee's intended movement. Gregg 
had thus forced their right backward. Our left (in which 
was ours) then advanced for about half a mile. Firing 
slackened on both sides. Gregg came in on our left. •The 
object of the reconnoissance being accomplished, and the 
enemy being in motion in great force, our Avhole foi'ce began 
to retire about three P. M., and recrossed the river about six 
o'clock.* 

The corps (rejoined by ours on the 16th) moved on the 
17th, reaching Leesburg and Alexandria turnpike a few miles 

* The importance of this operation at Beverly Ford is overshadowed by 
the battle of Gettysburg. But it ought to be recorded that the capture of 
papers in this expedition disclosed the enemy's plans, and that the discom- 
fiture of the enemy's cavalry, already about to move, was the means of 
nullifying the value of that force there and- all the way up to Gettysburg. 



RECAPITULATION. 329 

southeast of Drainsville about eleven A. M. On the 18th 
passed through Drainsville, forded Goose Creek (when there 
came up a heavy hail storm), passed through Leesburg, and 
camped under the wake of the old rebel Fort Johnston, above 
Leesburg, the work being occupied by artillery. Here the 
troops Kemained until the 26th, when they crossed the 
Potomac on pontoons at Edward's Ferry, encamping about 
four P. M. near the mouth of the Monocacy. The next day, 
on the banks of the canal, to a mile beyond Petersville ; on 
the 28th back to Petersville, and through Jefferson, to 
Frederick, and camped a few miles west of that town. On 
the 29th through Waterville, to within a mile of Bruceville. 
On the 30th to half a mile beyond Littleston. On the 1st of 
July, four or five miles slowly to near " Two Taverns," and 
afterward, to the sound of artillery, to about two miles from 
Gettysburg, on the Baltimore turnpike. On Thursday, the 
2d, the line moved forward a short distance, found the enemy 
in force, withdrew, and the whole corps made a detour by 
the left, to hills near Rock Creek, and threAv vip intrench- 
ments ; the brigade was, about four P. M., ordered to the left 
of the whole line, but was sent back directly, and found the 
enemy in the works which General Geary had erected. 

It was in obedience to the order to retake these works, 
about seven the next morning, that our regiment lost one 
hundred and twenty-six, killed and wounded, out of two 
hundred and ninety-four enlisted men, and ten officers out of 
twenty-two officers. Three color bearers were killed, and 
two Avounded. Passing down a straight slope, across an 
open meadoAV, up to the edge of the other hill, in the face of 
a terrible fire, the men found some shelter behind works, 
and a portion of the front of the curving breastworks, still 
continuing the fire. But troops which should have supported 
28* 



330 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

on the right failed to do it, and tlie enemy Avere flanking the 
regiment in that direction, and after holding the position for 
some time, the general ordered it hack to the place it had 
left. Need" I say that no man flinched in the deadliest 
storm ? 

Then the corps moved southAvard ; Avatched the enemy at 
Williamsport ; left for the soutliAvard by Avay of Harper's 
Ferry, after the enemy had moved ; and on the 3 1st Avere 
again on the Rappahannock. 

I have some accounts of the hospital Avork at Gettysburg, 
AvhicK I reserve. In regard to the ambulance system, it is 
said that General McClellan advocated the establishment of 
an ambulance system five ononths after the time AA^hich I 
specified as the date of the present one. And that Senator 
Sumner afl&rms, in June, 1863, that he tried to get such a 
system established, AA^hile in July, 18G3, Senator Wilson de- 
clares Ave have an admirable one. 

Now there is really no discrepancy. There are tivo points 
to be considered : first, Avhat a good ambulance system is ; 
and secondly, by Avhat authority should it be established. 

As to the first point, so far as my observation extends, Ave 
have a thorough, efficient, satisfactory system. I am con- 
firmed in this vicAV by accounts I have received of Gettys- 
burg. Last fall, the ■ system being ncAv, shoAved much 
friction ; it is noAV in good running order. Then, it had 
some special defects, which shoAved themselves badly ; now, 
these are removed. 

As to the second point, the present system is established 
merely by military authority in the army itself. It mighf. 
be established by act of Congress. Senator Wilson is right 
in saying (I have not seen his remarks) that our present 
system works vv^ell — it docs do all the Avork any system can. 



THE AMBULANCE CORPS. 331 

But Senator Sumner may be equally right in desiring to have 
this system (or an equivalent one) made obligatory by Con- 
gress. The only real change in the system would be, that 
men employed in the ambulance corps, now detailed from 
the regiments, Avould then be enlisted for the corps ; or per- 
haps the present men wovild be transferred. The advantage 
of that would be that the men would be thoroughly taught, 
and would remain permanently ; but now it works with us 
in the same way, the men so detailed having been left undis- 
turbed. And it is to be remembered that men now detailed 
cannot be recalled by regimental commanders ; they can only 
be sent back by the medical authorities. This affords some 
advantage over the separate corps system. Now, an unfit 
man can be returned ; then, he could not. General Mc- 
Clellan, indeed, prefers the totally separate plan. He wanted 
an act of Congress, by which the officers and men of the 
ambulance system should be specially enlisted for that 
purpose. And this is what his plan for action evidently 
meant. 

Our present system is good. It secures the desired result. 
But it is not established by act of Congress. It rests simply 
on military orders. At the next session it would be perfectly 
easy to pass an act, declaring that the otficers and men now 
employed in the ambulance corps shall constitute a distinct 
branch of the service, to be under control of the medical 
authorities, and that in future vacancies shall be filled by 
enlistments, instead of by detail. It would not change the 
present real work in the slightest degree. But it would, 
indeed, make uniform in the " army of the United States" 
what may be only partial. 

The only point I have insisted upon is, that our soldiers 
are not neglected ; that, barring the usual human frailties. 



332 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

the care is as perfect as any plan can provide, — at least in 
the Twelfth coi-ps. 

If it were not so, we know Senator Wilson's * heart well 
enough to be assured that he would spare no pains to remedy 
evils. We need only to look at his constant efforts to im-jli 
prove the condition of our soldiers. The country owes him 
a debt of gratitude, as well as to the other noble senator 
from Massachusetts. 



City Hall Park, New York, September 5, 1863. 

A TEW days ago, one of our men (a faithful man too, one 
who is detailed for special duty, but always takes his gun, 
and shares the dangers of his comrades when there is a 
fight), was told that his wife and child were just outside of 
the guard, and went to bring them in. As soon as he was 
in sight, his little boy, who had not seen his father since the 
war opened, rushed past the guard and over the tent ropes, 
and climbed up to his father's neck and hung there, while his 
father could not help the tears of delight. Wasn't it sol- 
dierly? Well, some of the guard themselves put on a very 
soldierly air — but they wiped their eyes. They are no 
worse soldiers for the memory of the little boys and girls at 
home, and much better men for it. 

Camp life has indeed been a good deal variegated (in the 
city) by the presence of wives and children. It is astonish- 
ing how much the dull mess-room, which has been made a 
kind of general parlor, has been brightened up by family 
groups. While I "RTite, two active youngsters are daring to 

* If I had to choose from all the public acts of this senator what should 
be the ground of honor, it would be his masterly exposure of the hideous 
Slave Code of the District of Columbia. 



THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 333 

play marbles in the sacred precincts of camp ; but the bay- 
onet glistens still on the sentry posts. 

The great feature which seems to distingviish this war from 
all others, is the great system of home help to the army. 
What other army ever had such benevolence poured out? 
What one, even, ever had such a mail-system as ours — so 
wise as it is in its effect on the men ? What other ever had 
the sick, the wounded, and the dying so ministered unto? 
The government has done wonderfully in this direction itself. 
But such outside helps were never before witnessed. They 
are good. They do the army good. Every child that helps 
sew on a garment for a soldier is doing what our Lord ap- 
proves. Every stitch is a work of love. The old man who, 
poor, learned to knit so as to do something, in his chimney 
corner, for the soldiers, was a hero ; that pair of stockings 
came to our regiment, and the men reverence the old man. 

The chief among the links to home, as an agency for relief, 
is the Sanitary Commission. The aiiore I see and hear of 
this institution, I am amazed at its wonderful efficiency. I 
regard it as chief, not as exclusive. But chief it is. I lately 
saw and heard more of its doings. Perhaps your readers do 
not know its plan beyond Washington, and you will allow 
me to outline it as it is in our army, — merely for furnishing 
supplies. 

The central agency is, of course, at Washington. Here 
supplies are accumulated, and large deposits are necessary 
for any emergency. 

In the army, each corps is supplied with a relief agent, 
who lives in the corps. He moves with it. He has a four- 
horse wagon, supplied with sanitary stores — articles addi- 
tional to those furnished by government. These wagons are 
generally with the ambulance train, and the relief agent has 



334 THE POTOMAC AND THE KAPIDAN. 

discretionary power to dispose of his articles. He issues 
them to fiekl hospitals on requisitions from the medical offi- 
cers there. New supplies are constantly sent, so as to have 
plenty on hand. 

The whole arrangement is under the care (I have asked 
for the names) of J. Warner Johnson (firm of Johnson and 
Brothers, law-book Publishers, Philadelphia), and Captain 
Ira Harris of New York. The relief agents are, — First 
corps, W. A. Hovey, of Boston ; Second, N. Murray, Jr., 
of New York, and Rev. J. Anderson of California ; Third, 
Colonel Clemens Soest, formerly commander of Twenty-ninth 
New York ; Fifth, E. M. Barton, of Worcester, Massachu- 
setts, — a son, I think, of Judge Barton ; Sixth, D. S. Pope, 
of Baltimore; Twelfth, S. Hoag. And Dr. W. S. Swalm 
acts as inspector in the field. While Dr. Steiner, of Fred- 
erick, Maryland, has general charge at Washington for this 
army, — a man of ripe experience and qualities for the post. 
These names are a guarantee for efficiency. These men 
w^ork for little or no pay, but they are j^ennanent agents. 

That this system insures success, there can be no doubt. 
I think I Avrote you that at Chancellorville the hospitals 
were well supplied with even luxuries, by the Commission, 
while the battle was still in progress. I am now told, on 
most reliable authority (that of the surgeons), that on the 
Thursday and Friday, the great days of the Gettysburg bat- 
tles, the Sanitary Commission were distributing their stores 
under fire. In two corps (one is ours), that this was done, 
clear «vidence also exists in the receipts given by the sur- 
geons at the battle-ground. I was somewhat astonished at 
this, as, while at home, I had read statements that some 
other agency was three days in advance of all others with 
supplies at Gettysburg. But as the Sanitary Commission 



THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 335 

was there while the battle was stiU in progress, this latter 
statement is evidently a mistake ! 

One great reason why the Sanitary Commission works so 
well is, that it works in and by means of the regular author- 
ities. It does not set itself up as independent of the medical 
officers. It distributes through the surgeons. The wisdom 
of this plan is evident at a glance. The surgeons know what 
is needed, and how to use it. An indiscriminate administer- 
ing of relief by independent helps is subversive of all order. 
A case just in point happened — no matter where, but I 
know. A soldier had turned the critical point of disease, and 
was doing well. A benevolent individual, distributing sup- 
plies out of a basket, gave this soldier some pickles, and I 
know not what else, which he ate. The kind visitor came 
next day. " Did you give pickles to that man?" asked the 
surgeon. " Yes." " Well, you meant right, but you insured 
his death." In fact it did, — within forty-eight hours. 

The independent method is bad. The medical authorities 
are the only ones who ought to be in general intrusted with 
supplies. It is sometimes well to place the article in the 
hands of the soldier himself; but while this course could do 
good occasionally, as a system it would be bad. The sur- 
geon knows what the sick man should eat, and what he 
should wear. And an institution which furnishes things at 
the time needed is invaluable. 

It is of great importance to harmonize all outside man- 
agement with the methods which government has established. 
The Sanitary Commission avoids all complications. 

While the Commission was thus harmoniously acting with 
the authorities in relieving the suffering, several chaplains 
were, as I have learned from others, working night and day 
in corps hospital at Gettysburg. I am informed that they 



336 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

■were invaluable. They ministered to the wounded aud the 
dying like brothers. I know how it was, for I knoAv these 
men. Such men are not praised in newspapers. But these 
men do the steady, every day, heavy w.ork. When others at 
Chancellorville failed, these men risked shot and shell, and 
some found captivity in doing their duty. No letter Avriter tells 
about them, because it is the regular business of those men. 

The Sanitary Commission has shown true wisdom, also, in 
its plan of employing regular and permanent agents. Sudden 
spasms of work do little. The Commission knows that. It 
takes time for men to learn their business. When taught, 
one man is worth twenty temporary volunteers. The work 
which the tract societies are doing in the army is more 
effective, because they employ permanent managers, and 
work in harmony with the recognized religious workers of 
the army. Mr. Alvord, for example (I refer to him because 
I know his work), accomplished wonders, because he used 
all existing facilities. Finding a chaplain, or (in case there 
were none) some other religious man, in each of (say) a 
hundred regiments, he had a hundred permanent agents all 
his own, for Christ's sake. Gathering them together, and 
thus exciting new fervor, holding meetings for prayer of 
those hundred laborers, each of whom had his own field, in 
which none could do the work that laborer could, a life 
was sent through the whole, when outside workers could only 
have made a slight impression on the circumference. 

The Sanitary Commission works through the proper chan- 
nels. There is, therefore, no outside work which, in the 
matter of supplies, can rival the Commission in cheapness, 
directness, or usefulness. It does a work which fathers, and 
mothers, and wives at home ought to be thankful for. It 
ministers to the helpless. It succors Avhere suffering and 
death would often be the result of absence of succor. 



TO VIRGINIA. 337 



CHAPTER XIII. 



ON THE RATIDAN. 



Alexandria, Va., September 10, 1863. 
My last writing ended abruptly. Orders came to "be 
ready to move at a moment's notice," which reqviired 
instant preparation. For, however expectant we may be of 
some movement, there is always something to pack, if it be 
only a blanket to roll up. It was Saturday afternoon then ; 
and in a. short time came orders that we were to move as 
soon after three P. M. as possible. We were ready, of 
course ; but we were not actually sent towards the transport 
until evening. Then the line was formed in the Park. 
Wives were there to take leave of husbands. Children re- 
ceived a " good-by." A tear or two glistened. Our drum 
corps played, and we marched down Broadway to Battery 
Park, and then were conveyed on lighters (or whatever they 
are rightly called) to the steamer Mississippi, lying a mile 
away. All night baggage and rations were crossing, and 
horses were being swung on board for the three regiments — 
the Third Wisconsin, the Twenty-seventh Indiana, and our 
-OAvn. And so our fortnight's trip to New York city suddenly 
ended. So we left friends and acquaintances who had been 
very kind ; left the din and hubbub of Broadway, and turned 
towards the army again. 
29 



338 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

I ought not to omit to mention here the kindness of Mr. 
Stetson of the Astor. He had offered the officers of ours the 
free hospitalities of his house at the beginning of our stay ; 
and at the last moment, after unvarying ^ood offices, he came 
over to bid us good-by. He was always fond of the Second ; 
and doubtless he thought, also, of one of our young officers, 
born in his house, always a favorite of his, who, after a 
brave and gallant service, fell while leading our regiment at 
Gettysburg, and now sleeps in a soldier's honored grave. It 
was that commander who, on our last Sunday before the 
recent movement, in which he lost his life, in the sickness of 
the chaplain, called out the regiment at the usual hour, and 
himself conducted divine worship. 

So we left New York harbor early on Sunday morning ; 
passed down by Staten Island, and in front of the magnificent 
fortifications erecting there ; by and by left Sandy Hook ; 
steamed on in sight of the long, low, silver-fringed Jersey 
coast, and by afternoon were out of sight of land again. 

There was not a lively company on board that day. 
Bodily reasons had some influence. For myself I confess to 
decidedly imcomfortable sensations all day in that organ, 
which some ugly woman has said was the most direct avenue 
to a inan's heart, viz., the stomach. That is a vile calumny. 
But then people must eat; though how one can do it when he 
is — not seasick ; O, no — but feeling somehow as if — well, 
not exactly as he did on dry land, is a puzzler. 

Then the detachment felt a little blue. Not that we were 
leaving a city ; that is nothing. But the new pai'tings from 
friends who had come on to see us ; the plans which one 
week more would have completed ; the friends who were just 
coming, some to see, perhaps, a son whose brother had just 
fallen, — these things left a sombre shade over us. For 



TO VIRGINIA. 339 

myself, a wife and child had come the day before ; and in the 
suddenness of departure it was rather hard to be unable to 
inform them of the movement, to see them once again, to say 
" good-by " before leaving for — how long? But such is the 
life in war. It knows no ties but ties to country ; and no 
rules, but instant obedience. God keep our wives and 
children ! 

On the boat I thought of these things. I thought of the 
likeness of this event to God's mode in providence. How 
often does it happen, not only on the battle-field, but at home, 
that the summons comes, with no delay for parting interviews, 
for men to embark on the infinite eternity, for no return? 
Even if circumstances allow, as they happened to for some of 
our men, to take farewell interviews, yet it must make no 
delay. " Forward ! " is inexorable Avhen the moment comes. 

If unprepared, there is no time to prepare. If tjje knap- 
sack be unpacked, it remains unpacked. If plans are not 
finished, they remain unfinished forever. " Forward ! " 

If we felt this, we should be less unprepared for life. 
What rule is there for any one but this army order, " Ready 
to move at a moment's notice " ? Let business be arranged, 
and affairs of property settled. Let the heart be right 
towards God, and eternal interests cared for. " In such an 
hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." And happy 
is that man in life, who is always " ready to move at a 
moment's notice. 

There is no need of lingering on our trip. The same waste 
of waters, the same phosphorescent lights struck out at night 
in the wake of our propeller, the sight of white sails, or of 
puffing steamers, and the steady throbbing of our engines 
carrying us on. Until, when Tuesday's daylight appeared, we 
saw Cape Charles, and in the forenoon Cape Henry, and then 



340 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

we turn up into the lordly Chesapeake ; and at evening just 
pass the light at Point Lookout, which marks the entrance to 
the Potomac, and there, because the river is hard to navigate 
in the night, we anchor until daylight. By two o'clock the 
next afternoon, we are opposite Alexandria ; and before 
sunset we have occupied our old tield jvxst west of that 
miserable town. 

The return trip was, on the whole, pleasant. It is easier 
journeying by sea than over dusty roads. Our steamer was 
the iron Ilississijypi, a twin of the Merrimack^ which took us 
to New York ; made on the same plans by the same good 
builder, Harrison Loring, of Boston, finished nearer like 
that than any pea is like another ; but as twins differ, so this 
boat measured exactly seventeen tons and forty ninety- 
fifths more than the other ; and it had seventy-two cork 
jackets (probably not intended for three regiments), and six 
life-boats, and eighty buckets, and sixteen axes, and was fit 
to go " one thousand two hundred miles," which was more 
than enough for us. We had a capital captain. Captain 
Baxter, of Hyannis, who believed in his boat, as a colonel 
always believes in his regiment, and a very clever purser. 
Purser Sampson, of Dedham, who did his best, which was 
very good. 

So we are on our return to the army. We have a 
delightful prospect of sixty miles march on hand, almost in 
" a land where no water is." And then, whatever Provi- 
dence may have in store. Our episode is over. The good 
friends in New York — and I had for myself many kind 
callers at camp, and so did others — we shall remember. 
And our men will be no worse soldiers for seeing those 
dearest to them. 



IN VIRGINIA. 341 

September 15, 1863. 

We left Alexandria (oiu* three regiments) about two P. M. 
on Thursday, September 10. Our expectations that trans- 
portation by rail would be furnished to us as it had been to 
other troops of our expedition, were frustrated ; and we 
started over a road familiar to the army of Virginia, and in 
parts as much so 'to us as our native State. The present 
march was our first direct and entire one over the straight 
road, though we had before been over roads parallel for the 
same distance. 

We made eight miles that day. What a waste that coun- 
try is ! Inhabitants gone, lines generally obliterated, houses 
destroyed. About seven miles from Alexandria is Annan- 
dale — called a "dale" doubtless from its being situated on 
an elevated plain, just as the South calls itself " chivah'ic " 
because it whips women and sells babies. Annandale was 
made up of half a dozen houses ; now it comprises one or 
two houses, and the balance in chimneys. There Avas also 
one fence, a weak attempt — a kind of "poor but loyal" 
fence, probably. There is a small stream just south of this, 
on the south bank of which we camped. 

At four A. M., reveille. At six A. M. we were on the 
road. And so was a long train of fresh horses going to the 
army under cavalry escort. The method of security was by 
attaching — say fifty — horses on each side of a long I'ope 
extending from a Avagon in front to a wagon in the rear. It 
was amusing to see the starting after any halt ; the horses' 
legs being on all sides of every rope at once. But it was not 
amusing to have the affair on the road. Despite all effort 
at peace, the cavalry managers tried to intei-fere with us con- 
tinually. If Ave halted, they halted. When Ave started, they 
29* 



342 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

would make every effort to break our line. At one place, 
they succeeded in driving a wagon of our detachment into a 
ditch, and breaking some part. As more ti'ouble was likely 
to ensue, our commander wheeled a guard across the road. 
Thereupon a young lieutenant drew his pistol on the guard ; 
but a dozen Indiana bayonets pointing instantly at his breast, 
he quickly concluded to postpone his funeral, Avhich would 
certainly have been provided for the moment he had fired a 
^hot. At a subsequent attempt of that train to make trouble, 
the butts of muskets were used with great success ; the only 
mistake being in not using the steel, for we were clearly 
right. The dust, too, was a nuisance. Imagine a road covered 
with the dryest and finest powder — whole regiments passing 
over it — cavalry starting it up — and you can conceive of a 
road in which a decent breath was next to impossible. Add 
the Avant of water, and pity the troops. And then we met 
and passed an immense train of empty wagons of sutlers, 
coming on under escort, — it seemed unendurable. How 
many a soldier will recognize such a description ! 

But we had some relief, when, having passed through des- 
olate Fairfax, we arrived' within half a mile of Centreville, 
and halted. There we found the Second Massachusetts cav- 
alry and met friends. Dr. DeWolf, their surgeon, took 
two men of ours in his hospital, for we had no accommoda- 
tions, and showed us other kindnesses. Some old friends 
were there, — and I found the excellent chaplain whom I had 
met once before on a sad occasion, — and we should be old 
friends, I am persuaded, in a very short tiiue. Here the 
men had their dinner, such as it was. And then, passing be- 
tween the old earthworks, we went to Bull Riui. 

Having had a march of seventeen miles already, there 
being no need of haste, the men being footsore and tired, 



MARCHING IN VIRGINIA. 343 

there being plenty of Avater there, and none of any conse- 
quence for miles onward, after a I'est, the order came, of 
course, to fall in ! " We did so, and went on three miles to 
Manassas Junction, and got in camp after dark, and obtained 
a little dirty water ; to be roused up at four A. M. again. 

Then to start, and to see no signs of life for miles, except 
as the army gave them. Chimneys were plenty. Indeed, if 
any enterprising man wants ready made chimneys, as being 
handy in case of building, he could doubtless drive a good 
trade, and lay in a lai-ge stock on this road. Four miles 
brought us to Bristow Station — to accomplish which re- 
versely last year cost us twenty miles of detour. At 
Bristow Ave found friends, the Thirty-third Massachusetts, 
Avhose splendid baud played for us as Ave moved on. There 
Avas the spot Avliere, last year, we Avitnessed the burning of 
half a mile of cars ; the one building then standing being 
noAV gone. A fcAv miles further, on the edge of Kettle Run, 
Avas the spot AA-here Ave lay all day idle, in sound of the battle 
of Manassas, — with as many troops, I think, as Fitz John 
Porter Avas cashiered for the alleged reason of not bring- 
ing in, — the number Avhich, it Avas stated, would have 
secured victory. From that point the heat was intense. 
There Avas literally no water. The men suffered accordingly. 
But after occasional rests, Ave halted at Catlett's, Avhere a 
little moist dirt Avas tried to quench thirst ; halted for tAvo 
hours Avithin a mile of our destined camp, and so got wet, 
but relieved, by a thunder shoAver. 

The next morning we marched to Bealeton, every inch of 
the road historical and familiar. The march Avas pleasanter 
for the rain of the day before, and another that morning had 
lain the dust. The evil of occasional muddy spots AA^as more 
than balanced by the absence of clouds of dust. All day the 



344 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

sunshine and cloud strove for mastery. Sometimes it waa 
intensely hot, but then a good-natured cloud would interpose 
its sun-shade, and relieve us. Miles more brought us to 
camp. How pleasant it seemed to get back. The Thir- 
teenth New Jersey were drawn in line, and welcomed, with 
cheers, each of our regiments back to the stout old Third 
brigade ; and so we settled down. 

We have moved since. We heard that day the noise of 
artillery as we were getting home again. 

After all, New York is a humbug compared with the 
army. It is tattoo, as I write. What music it is, compared 
with the nuisance noises of those city streets ! Our candles 
are not brilliant ; but the sight of the lights of the camps all 
around is more pleasant than the glare of the city gas. The 
air is the pure air of heaven, not the choky stuff of the 
metropolis. The men are doing something noble, not daw- 
dling away these glorious days in selling tape and ribbons. 
The soldier lives to some purpose, and if he dies, it is a 
hero's death. The silks. of that wealthy mart may be coveted 
by some ; but what are the whole, to our bullet-riddled old 
flag, which passed from the stiffening hands of one color- 
bearer to another in the days of many a battle ? 



Near the Rapidan, Va., September 22, 1863. 

It is no news to you that the army has advanced from the 
Rappahannock to the line of the Rapidan, or, correctly, the 
Rapid Ann. This river is a branch of the Rappaliannock, 
flowing into that stream some twenty miles above Fredericks- 
burg. It runs easterly, below the base of Cedar Mountain, 
and some miles south of Culpepper. 



MARCHING IN VIRGINIA. 345 

The artillery firing which wc heard as we approached tlie 
Rappahannock, on the loth, was occasioned by the crossing 
mainly of cavalry. The Second corps followed. Some fight- 
ing accompanied the advance to Culpepper. 

Our own corps left Kelly's Ford on the 15th. We were 
not sorry to leave that vicinity ; for although the scenery was 
pleasant, the water was scarce and detestable. In dipping 
up a cupful, you were often successful in catching a few hun- 
dred squirming little rascals. As we advanced, we lost this 
opportunity, but the dead-cat-ish taste was equally strong. 

Crossing at Kelly's Ford, over a pontoon bridge, we were 
at the same point at which our corps crossed in the Chan- 
cellorville movement. Mr. Kelly's mill and little village 
was the same — the rank, rich, old rebel. The old path was 
followed, in the misty morning, for several miles ; then, 
instead of turning eastAvard to Germanna Ford, the road was 
taken to Stephensburg, a little village of the usual decayed 
order, which is about seven miles from Kelly's Ford, and 
four eastward of Brandy Station. The rain of the forenoon 
ceased, though at night the weather was unsettled. We 
camped there. On a little knoll of land just above Stephens- 
burg I noticed the side of a distant hill. I could not mistake 
the outline ; it was the memorable Cedar Mountain. 

On the morning of the 16th we were early on the road. 
Turning at right angles, in Stephensburg, the southeasterly 
road was the one to Raccoon Ford. It was only a five mile 
march ; but the last part was crooked into every point of the 
compass, for the sake of avoiding the observation of the 
enemy, Avho occupied, as a signal station, a hill on the other 
side of the Rapidan. The firing of our cavalry pickets near 
the river was quite frequent with that of the enemy ; and 
but for keeping in the woods, and for a mist shrouding us. 



346 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

we would have been greatly exposed at short range, as the 
road led along near the river. Before finding what may be 
called a temporarily permanent stopping-place, we were re- 
peatedly halted, in line of battle, where the woods were 
pleasant, and the fall flowers, of red, and yellow, and 
white, and blue, were growing. 

At one of these halts there came up a savage thunder 
shower. As soon as thoroughly wet, orders came to go into 
camp, a few rods from where we then Avere. It rained sav- 
agely that night, and we suddenly awoke to the fact, Avhen 
well wet and thoroughly cold, with but few and small fires 
allowable, that it was the equinoctial. 

An equinoctial is a very pretty thing, when you are at 
home in a comfortable house, before a snug Avood fire in an 
open fireplace. But an equinoctial in the woods, Avith scant 
shelter of cloth and a little smouldering fire, and, CA'ery now 
and then the thunder of a gun throAving grape at CAery group 
of pickets, as that evening, is not charming. Even the pick- 
ets at one point could be relieved, then and later, only after 
dark. But the men bore it patiently. Hoav abominable it is 
that traitors at home should try to Aveaken the army and 
lengthen out its hardships. 

On the 19th our regiment changed camp a short distance, 
to get out of the mud. And on the next day early came 
orders for the brigade to change again, with the object of 
getting a little farther from the range of divers ugly looking 
affairs on the other side of the riA'er. So tents and shelters 
were taken doAvn, and after Avaiting for nearly four hours, we 
Avere ordered to put them up again and stay Avhere Ave were. 
Ours and the Third Wisconsin were to support the pickets ; 
that is, be handy in case of a breach of the peace. We are 
on the extreme right of our army's line. 



AN EXECUTION. 347 

It became quiet, onr corps commander forbade ^11 picket 
firing, and when the rebels found that no reply was made, 
they stopped it too. But the low ground here is not the 
most comfortable place to live in. 

On the opposite side an enemy, apparently in plenty. I 
went out to take a look at them. Take a walk through the 
woods, so ; then turn, so ; then cross a brook ; then turn, so ; 
then go up a little knoll, and you see a nice earthwork 
opposite, and rows of rifle pits constantly growing longer, 
and rebel soldiers on duty, or going after water, or smoking 
their pipes. As a small party of ours were looking, the 
other day, the rebels brought out a flag, and waved it back 
and forth, which was pleasanter than a shower of grape. 
Their position is strong, being on bluffs, and they have 
improved it. 

Of course we will not stay here long. Events are already 
in progress, and when I write again, something will have 
been done. If we leave soon, — the grounds of the Kansas 
Stringfellow I am told, — we shall not object. 

A painful episode, the first of the kind I have witnessed, 
took place last Friday. It was a military execution. The 
person thus punished belonged to the Third Maryland, which 
is in our division. His crime was desertion. It was his second 
offence. For the first, he had been sentenced only to three 
months' labor and loss of pay. For the second, death ! 

While the army was passing through Frederick, Maryland, 
in its recent movement, he had got out of camp. His regi- 
ment passed on, and he went to Baltimore. Arrested there, 
he was returned to the army ; was tried ; was convicted ; 
and was sentenced. 

On Tuesday last his sentence was formally read to him. 
He was to be shot to death with musketry, on the next 



348 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Friday, between the hours of noon and four P. M. But he 
had learned the decision on the Sunday before. 

There is no chaplain to the Third Maryland regiment. 
But Chaplain Welsh of the Fifth Connecticut, in the same 
brigade, ministered to him in spiritual matters faithfully, and 
like himself, day by day. At last it fell to me to see him, 
and to be with him during most of his remaining hours. But 
what could be done, in the way of instruction, had been done 
by Mr. Welsh, and for it the man was grateful. 

The day of his execution was wet and gloomy. That 
morning, in the midst of the provost guard, he was sitting on 
a bag of grain, leaning against a tree, while a sentry, Avith 
fixed bayonet, stood behind, never turning away from him, 
and never to turn away save as another took his place, until 
the end. Useless seemed the watch, for arms and feet had 
been secured, though not painfully, since the sentence was 
read. 

The captain of the guard had humanely done all he could ; 
and it was partly by his request that I was there. A chap- 
lain could minister where others could not be allowed. 

The rain fell silently on him. The hours of his life were 
numbered — even the minutes. He was to meet death, not 
in the shock and excitement of battle, not as a martyr for 
his country, not in disease, but in full health, and as a crim- 
inal. 

I have seen many a man die, and have tried to perform 
the sacred duties of my station. I have never had so pain- 
ful a task as that, because of these circumstances. AV^il- 
lingly, gladly, he conversed, heard, and answered. While 
painful is such a work, it has its bright side, because of the 
" exceeding great and precious promises " it is one's privilege 
to tell. 



THE EXECUTION. 349 

When the time came for removal to tlie place of execution, 
he entered an ambulance, the chaplain accompanying him. 
Next, in another ambulance, was the coffin, Befoi*e, behind, 
and on either side a guard. Half a mile of this sad journey- 
brought him to within a short distance of the spot. Then 
leaving the ambulance, he walked to the place selected. The 
rain had stopped. The sun was shining on the dark lines of 
the whole division, drawn up on three sides of a hollow 
square. With guard in front and rear, he passed with steady- 
step through an opening left in the head of the square, still 
with the chaplain, and to the open side. There was a gi'ave 
just dvig, and in front of it was his coffin placed. He sat 
upon the coffin ; his feet were reconfined, to allow of which 
he lifted them voluntarily, and his eyes were bandaged. 

In front of him, the firing party of two from each regiment, 
were then drawn up, — half held as reserve, — during Avhich 
there was still a little time for Avords with his chaplain. 
The general stood by, and the provost marshal read the sen- 
tence and shook hands -with the condemned. Then a prayer 
was offered, amid uncovered heads and solemn faces. A last 
hand-shake with the chaplain, which he had twice requested ; 
a few words from him to the chaplain — a lingering pres- 
sure by the hand of the condemned ; his lips moving with a 
prayer-sentence which he had been taught, and on which his 
thoughts had dwelt before ; and he was left alone. 

The word of command was immediately given. One vol- 
ley, and he fell over instantly, unconscious. A record of 
wounds was made by the surgeons, who immediately exam- 
ined him. The troops filed by his grave on the banks of the 
swollen stream, and then passed off, under cover of the woods 
as they had come, to avoid being seen by the enemy. And 
so, twenty years old, and with only a mother and sister, he 
30 



350 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Avas left there. The sun was soon covered with clouds, and 
the rain poured down on his solitary grave. 

Are these things necessary? The whole history of war 
says they are. However much we pity, it is a necessity. 
Had there been greater firmness in these things near two 
years ago, life Avould have been saved now. 

Every man who desei'ts increases the dangers of his com- 
rades. He weakens their hands. He becomes a traitor to 
his country. I wish I could reach the ear of every man now 
in desertion, and urge him to be a man again. Voluntarily 
returning, his punishment might be mitigated. Taken as a 
deserter, his fate is clear. 

It is true, a man may be killed in battle. True. But how 
long is it to be before we learn that the country has a right 
to every man's service ? How long before objectors to con- 
scription will remember that instead of taking a part only, 
the nation has a right to call upon all ? That it has a right 
to even those not " able-bodied," and waives it only because 
they could not be made useful ? How long will it be before 
the blush of shame will cover the cheek of every man who, 
for slight cause, has succeeded in obtaining " exemption"? 

" Slight cause." Doubtless rigid rules would have " ex- 
empted" a third of all our old force, if they had made efforts. 
But they volunteered, and have made splendid soldiers. 

Men have been encouraged by their friends to desert. 
You who helped it, helped kill this man shot last Friday, and 
every other man shot for desertion. If the one you helped 
desert is taken, you helped shoot liim. 

And scarcely less wicked and more despicable is the con- 
duct of some at home who are earnest for war. I have in 
mind some men who wanted this war, and who now urge it 
on that slavery may be abolished ; who have been furious, 



HOME PATRIOTS. 351 

because the army, too weak, has not done impossibilities ; 
Avho have clamored against the soldier's wishes, and faith, 
and enthusiasm. Such men should have volunteered long 
ago. When the army was faint and weak, and help did not 
come, who but advocates for a great principle should have 
hurried to arms ! Many have, very many. But they Avho 
cried for war And did not go, — able-bodied men, — let 
them keep silent forever. 



352 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROM THE RAPIDAN TO THE TENNESSEE. 

Department of the Cumberland, October 5, 1863. 

We were at Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan. Our regi- 
ment was supporting the pickets at that crossing, and lay in 
easy range of the guns which frowned from the constantly 
extending earthworks on the enemy's hills. We had, on 
Saturday, September 19, gathered around our first autumn 
fire, kept low for security. We were eating our hard bread 
discriminatingly, picking out the — well, don't mention it — 
but it was old " White House Landing" bread. Eight days' 
rations Avere constantly kept on hand, which really means 
that men must live eight days on four days' food. Every- 
body anticipated a movement ; and there is reason to believe 
that one would have taken place within two days, when 
orders came, which resulted in what the Richmond papers 
announced as the movement of the Eleventh and Twelfth 
corps to reenforce General Rosecrans. At any rate those 
orders set us to travelling up and down the roads of Ten- 
nessee, with an occasional touch of Alabama. 

On the 24th of September the orders came to move. 
Where, Avas none of a soldier's business. Like him who 
" Avent out, not kno-n'ing whither he went," the soldier starts 



INJUSTICE TO CHAPLAINS. 353 

on his journey of ten miles ox* a thousand, relying on the 
guidance and care of superiors. So, on a pleasant day, after 
a few hours of waiting, we wound our way circuitously under 
cover of the woods, which, for the time, hid our movenaent 
from the eyes of the enemy. The other division sooft 
appeared ; so we found that the whole corps was in motion. 
A few miles out, there silently passed us another corps to 
take our place. So the Ford was not to be abandoned, nor 
was any forward movement probable. Passing through 
Stephensburg, we took the road to Brandy Station, which 
looked like railroad-ing. And we speculated more. We 
had heard of disasters to General Rosecrans, and the wild 
idea began to float in our minds that we might be going 
thither. When, after dark, we had reached the station, and 
orders came to tui'n in all " transjiortation " and extra 
supplies, we knew that we had a long journey befoi*e us ; and 
everybody's heart beat with new expectations. We studied 
the map, and settled down on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road as our probable route. We were right. Our corps 
was to leave the army of the Potomac, although as is said, on 
sufficient authority, the commanding general asked to have it 
left, and some other taken. 

We bivouacked at Brandy Station. There the paymaster 
appeared and worked all night. I Avas not so well pleased 
as some. For, by a recent outrageous decision, no chaplain 
can draw pay for time when sick or disabled. So, for the 
time of my recent illness, all pay was cut off. It is true that 
no other officer or man in the service is so treated ; but 
chaplains are under the ban in certain departments. It is 
true that, in my case the surgeon of the brigade had examined 
me when the army was to move, and decided that, as I >vas 
unable to sit up, I could not accompany the troops — as Avas 
30* 



354 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN.. 

done with other officers and meu ; and, furthermore, certified 
that my illness was caused by " exposure in the line of duty." 
But who cares for chaplains? As it is, the government 
really says to every chaplain, " Do not expose your health 
ih. the slightest degree. Be sure never to go within range of 
shot or shell to help a Avounded man, or comfort the dying. 
For if, by any chance, you get wounded or sick in dis- 
charging your duty, you are selected for special insult ; your 
pay shall instantly cease, although you are subject to orders 
the same as ever." In my own case, as camp expenses went 
on as usual, and as there were the added expenses of sickness 
— the entire cessation of a pay insufficient, at any time, to 
support my family and myself, offered me a temptation to 
leave the service for a settlement, whose overtures had been 
made — a temptation, the strongest I have ever felt to leave. 
But it was only for a moment. I can now say, while 
feeling the sense of personal injustice keenly, what I could 
not before have said as well — that any man who would let 
any personal wrong from officials weaken, in the least degree, 
his loyalty to his government, or cause him to array himself 
against the men who are the only authorized administrators 
of the government, is unworthy of being in the army. The 
time may come when my vote and my influence may 
remember certain individuals ; but the time is not now. 
Now, the national life is at stake. Now, the administration 
is trying nobly and lieartily to save the country. Private 
injuries are the things of a day. The national life is 
essential to the prosperity of millions. I can just as cheer- 
fully support the administration as though I was of its party ; 
and I shall do so, I must do so, as a patriot. And this is all 
I shall say of the dishonest affair. I here mention it only 
because T want to call the attention of law-makers to the fact 



A DESERTER. 355 

that this is but one of a class of wrongs systematically 
wrought u^jon chaplains by departments at "Washington. 

But I had something else to think of that evening. Late 
into the night I was sitting by the side of a man condemned 
to die. There Avas no chaplain to his regiment. It was his 
last night on earth. Our General Williams, as kind-hearted 
as brave, had requested me to see him. The man had scofT- 
ingly, abusively, repelled all attempts to do him good ; and 
had, both at his trial and ever since, shammed half idiocy. 

He was only twenty years old, but Avas experienced in 
crime. 

The clouds were fitfully gliding across the face of the 
moon as I found him. The guards drew back as I came 
near. He was sitting on a piece of wood, in front of a low 
fire, at Avhich he Avas heating some water in his dipper. 

As I stood there a moment quietly, he looked iip, but he 
had no suspicion of my office or object. When the guards 
dreAV back, he cast furtive glances at the Avood in the rear, 
but there Avas no chance for escape, even after the guards 
had loosened his cords. 

At the settling of a half-burnt stick his dipper Avas near 
falling. I replaced it, and asked, — 

'' What are you heating that for? Coffee? " 

" Yes." 

" It's almost boiling." 

" Yes, I am just going to put the coffee in." And he 
did, and I helped him. 

" What are you under guard for? " 

Suspicious instantly that I had some errand, he put on 
a stupid look. " O, I'm to be discharged, and this is an 
escort. I'm going to NeAV York to-morrow. I don't know 
much. I knoAV that." 



356 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN, 

I answered in some casual way, Avhich checked his 
suspicion, and talked about indifferent matters. 

He became quite communicative ; told me Avhen he had 
enlisted, and how he ran away ; how he reenlisted, and 
got the bounty, and ran away again, 

" You were not very shrewd to get caught." 

" No, I don't know much. I'm going home again," 
retapsing into his former stupid appearance. 

" Do you know," said I, " that you have been tried for 
desertion, and your sentence read ? " 

" Sentence? They read my discharge tlie other day. 
I don't know much." 

I tried to keep his attention to that point, but he would 
not admit the idea. But from his eye it was evident he 
was shamming. 

I asked him about his early life. Gradually he became 
communicative. His face lighted up. 

" I was a newsboy ; took good care of myself, too. 
They couldn't match me for sharpness, I tell you. I 
could swindle the best of 'cm." And so he told me of 
various exploits. 

It Avas time to try determinedly to do him good. The 
night was passing. I asked him of his mother. Yes, he ■ 
had a mother ; but, for the first time, I found a man who 
Avas callous on that theme. " I don't knoAv much," was 
his constant conclusion. 

By and by I said to him, — 

" You are going to be shot to-morrow. You know it. 
It is useless with me to sham stupid. You know you are 
going into the presence of God. It is time you were 
thinking of this matter." 

He interrupted me with an attempt at violent remark ; 
but I looked him steadily in the face, and he yielded. 



HIS EXECUTION. 357 

I talked for some time. He made no reply, except occa- 
sional assent to a question. By and by he said " I don't 
know much," and seemed indifferent. 

I Avas almost in despair. A new thought struck me. 
He had, in speaking of his mother, and of his boyhood, ad- 
mitted that in very early childhood his mother attended Cath- 
olic worship, though for years abandoned. I recalled the 
indelible character of early impressions, and the regard of 
that church for the symbol of the cross. So, having a twig 
in my hand, I said, — 

" Look here." He looked. I slowly made on the 
ground the sign of the cross, and asked, " What is that?" 

Instantly, with an entire abandonment of all pretence of 
stupidity, he answered, almost reverently, " The cross ! " 

" What happened on that cross ? " 

" Jesus Christ was crucified." 

"AVhatfor?" 

" To save sinuers." 

I record these facts to show how, when the certainty of 
death 'on the morrow, and all recollection of home failed, 
this impression of childhood opened an avenue to his heart. 

Then for some time he listened and spoke freely. But I 
cannot tell whether any good was done by word or prayer. 

The guards closed around him again as I left, and bound 
him ; and the sentry took his place again by his side. 

Before noon next day the condemned man was brought 
out. I saw the division marching to the spot, and the 
prisoner with a chaplain. Then I sheltered myself out of 
sight. The murmur of the drums came across the hill, and 
a subdued and mournful melody. Then a volley ; and I 
knew that he was dead, and beyond any more prayer. 

Early on Saturday we marched ten miles to Bealeton, and 



358 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

waited until Sunday morning. The cars came then, and we 
were soon ou board — horses and baggage to come in other 
trains. 

So we left. Left the State where, for more than two 
years, we had studied every road, and every hill, and every 
water-course. Left the graves of our dead heroes. Left the 
noble army of Virginia, whose heroism can never be sur- 
passed ; — firm in battle ; patient under injuries ; abused for 
want of success, Avlien success was made impossible ; insult- 
ingly compared with troops who never had to fight with such 
disciplined and picked men as we have — except, indeed, at 
Chickamauga, when the Longstreet men, against whom we 
had stood unbroken in battle after battle, brushed away some 
divisions like chaff, swept up prisoners at will, and carried 
off whole batteries. 

Through Alexandria. Across the Potomac. A fcAv 
minutes halt at Washington. Then away, away ! The 
country wants men at Chattanooga, and it is a thousand 
miles off. We stop at Relay to rearrange trains. A man 
was killed near there, falling from our train. He had 
left his own, which was contrary to orders ; he had got 
drunk, which was contrary to orders ; and he climbed to the 
top of a car, which was contrary to orders. 

It was night at Relay ; and those of us who had room, 
spread our blankets on the car floor, and laid down to broken 
sleep. The long trains sped onward, and daylight found us at 
Berlin. The river mists were partially hiding the scenery, 
but we remembered it well. Harper's Ferry reappeared, 
with a new iron bridge. Martinsburg, where the men stopped 
for free bread and coffee. At Hancock, Ave saw the first red 
leaves of the year, which grew thicker the farther we went. 
Often did we see red vines clinginGr all about the trunk of a 



TO TENNESSEE, 359 

green tree. They were like the parasite-climbers, who try to 
crawl to eminence up the Memory of a great leader, but 
whose frost-falling leaves show they are only parasites, while 
the giant Memory is still fresh and beautiful. 

Then Ave crossed streams, and pierced tunnels, and clung 
to mountain sides, and wound through valleys. We were in 
a magnificent country, and the x'oad, in its bold and solid 
engineering, was fitted for it. But as pleasant was the wav- 
ing of handkerchiefs from loyal little houses, nestling among 
the hills. Especially at Cumberland, a town hidden delight- 
fully among the coal mountains, which we reached after sun- 
set, the loyal crowds were heartiest. On again, and in the 
evening shadows we watched the glorious mountains. When 
I lay down that night, it was to think of the glory of Him, 
who reared these vast hills, and cut paths for the Avaters, and 
who gave to man the mind, the plan, and the hand to make 
the great work on Avhich Ave rode. 

At sunrise, the hills Avere behind us, but hills were before 
us. At Altamont Ave Avere tAventy-seven hundred feet above 
Baltimore. In KingAvood Tunnel, Ave rode nearly a mile. 
After Grafton, Avhere Ave saAV relics of rebel raids, and Avater 
from an artesian Avell, and tasted something Avhich Avas 
called coffee, Ave plunged again into more hills. It was a 
Avonderful change from insipid Eastern Virginia, and the 
people a vast improvement over the sly-looking, deceitful- 
acting inhabitants of that tract, of which it is said (in para- 
phrase of the Englishman's Avords) , that God made Manassas 
Plain, and it should be added, that he made it for Virginians. 
It is not decent enough for any other race. 

Our engine was a frisky fellow. He was a stahvart con- 
cern, rioting in strength. Sometimes he would travel as 
steadily as a deacon's horse. The next moment he would 



360 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

be peeping over some huge precipice ; and then, as if he had 
frightened us enough, he would dart away from the edge 
Avith screams of delight. Then he would scrape against the 
mountain side; or change his mind,. and rush across some 
river, or follow its current, as if that was the best way out 
of these bewildering hills. Sometimes he would twist our 
train into curves like a snake, and straighten out again. He 
would determine to tie us into a double bow-knot, or would 
Avheel around and look us in the face. Then, as if ashamed, 
he would dart out of sight into some hole in the mountain, 
and come out screaming on the other side. If tired of climb- 
ing up some steep hill, he would wait for a neighboring engine 
to come out of some side track, and help him up with half of 
the load ; and then ours would scream out " Much 'bliged," 
and go on again. But, as if he knew what a precious load 
of loyal troops he carried, he was very careful of us. He 
was no copperhead. Among a dozen like trains, he never 
ran into one, nor let one run against him. If he stopped for 
fuel and drink, he always shouted before starting. And at 
last, a little before midnight, he dropped us safely at Ben- 
wood, far above that Potomac, whose course we had fol- 
lowed, till we saw it little more than a rivulet. 

We crossed the Ohio on a pontoon bridge ; on the river's 
pebbly bank took coffee and hard bread — the Western hard 
bread, which is better than the Eastern ; were packed into 
cars, and started about two A. M. of Wednesday, on the 
Central Ohio Railroad. Morning found us near Cambridge ; 
and daylight showed us thrifty farms and respectable houses, 
in a country more broken than I had expected. At Zanes- 
ville, Ave had to delay ; and so took breakfast, after washing 
off considerable dirt into the Avaters of the Muskingum. 
Zanesville is remarkable for having an eating-room con- 



XENIA GIRLS. 361 

nected with a railway in which you can get a good break- 
fast, the only instance of the kind in all my travelling 
experience. 

We were a couple of hours at Columbus, which we left at 
three P. M. As our rambles were restricted to the limits 
of the railway grounds, I have no very comprehensive view 
of the capital of Ohio. To reach the capital of Indiana, we 
took the Columbus and Xenia Railway to Xenia ; then the 
Xenia and Dayton and Western Railway to Richmond ; then 
the Indiana Central Railway to Indianapolis. We should 
never have favored all this line, but our paternal government 
put us along without change of cars from the Ohio River 
at BeUaire to Indianapolis. 

But linger at Xenia. For when we stopped there, in the 
evening, a woman appeared with milk. And when asked the 
price, " nothing ! " And then there suddenly appeared a whole 
swarm of Avomen and girls, with huge quantities of meat, 
potatoes, eggs, pies, cakes, fruit, and milk, which they pro- 
ceeded to deal out to the soldiers most lavishly. " What is 
to pay ? " asked the astonished men. " Nothing. We are 
not Vallandigham people ; we take no pay of soldiers ! " I 
wish you could have heard the intense scorn with which 
the word Vallandigliam was spoken. The tone was that in 
which men say Judas Iscariot or Benedict Arnold. The 
soldiers ate till they could eat no more. It was not merely 
the good nice food which rejoiced us ; it was the frank, 
hearty, warm-heartedness of these Ohio girls, who ministered 
so freely to the wants of strangers, Avhile their fathers, hus- 
bands, and , &c. — held the lanterns. We have never 

been treated so before. As the hand-shakings ended, and 
" good-byes were said, and the cars rolled off amid the 
cheers of our men, everybody felt more brave, more patriotic, 
31 



362 THE POTOMAC AKD THE RAPIDAN. 

more happy for that kindness. I speak the wishes of the men 
recording thanks. They say, " God bless the Xenia girls ! " 



Tennessee, October 15, 1863. 

Then we hurried on, stopping briefly at Dayton, and at the 
dawn of the next morning following, found ourselves in In- 
diana. I liked the country there even better than Ohio, 
as we passed through fine farms and walnut groves. At 
noon, we were in Indianapolis, a place which I remember 
principally from the fact that dealers asked me nine dollars 
and a half for a rubber article, whose exact mate I had 
bought in Washington for five dollars, and Washington is 
not noted for low prices. I have also a vague idea of a fine 
city, and of an infinite number of railways centring in a very 
fine station-house. We left at six P. M. on the Jeffersonville 
Railway, and at half past five A. M. were at Jeffersonville, 
on the Ohio. We crossed on the funniest ferry-boat I ever 
saw, venerable for age, as its engine was also, — to Louis- 
ville, a city which seemed to me one of the best built and 
most charming I have ever passed through. At the " Sol- 
dier's Rest," where the Sanitary Commission is to be felt, we 
had bread, meat, and coffee ; and then hurried through Ken- 
tucky, a delightful State, and to Nashville, Tennessee, which 
we reached on Saturday morning, half an hour after mid- 
night. My impressions of Nashville are only those acquired 
in passing round its edge, and so around a great white mar- 
ble building, staring in the moonlight, surrounded by a good 
many fenceless houses lower than its foundations. It took a 
couple of hours to change trains ; and then we started off. 
At morn we were near the Stone River battle-field. At half 
after midnight, Sunday morning, Ave reached Stevenson ; we 



THE CHRISTIAN COMMISSION, 363 

were tumbled out of the cars on a plain between the moun- 
tains, and, our railway journey of eleven hundred miles from 
Bealeton, Virginia, being ended, we bivouacked on the soil 
of Alabama. 

Let nobody think that seven days' and nights' journey by 
railway is a delightful trip to soldiers. Crowded into un- 
comfortable cars ; unable to preserve cleanliness ; -with no 
satisfying sleep ; often doubtful as to the next breakfast, din- 
ner, or supper ; restricted at every stopping place by military 
authority ; — I prefer a good wagon, a nice horse, an agree- 
able companion, plenty of money, and lots of leisure. 

On the Sunday when we waked up at Stevenson, a busy 
depot for supplies, in the morning mists of the Tennessee 
River, I almost hoped to hold public Avorship. But as sing- 
ing-books were all in our baggage, which, with horses came 
in another train (only the horses have not yet come) , I went 
to the station of the Christian Commission to get a supply. 
The agent there, Mr. Lawrence, kindly offered me every 
facility, but it proved useless. I got back to camp only to 
find the men under orders to move again. 

I was much pleased with the appearance of things at the 
Commission's station, under the care of Mr. Lawrence. And, 
indeed, from still later observation and information, I am 
satisfied the Commission is doing a most excellent work here. 
Rev. E. P. Smith of Pepperell, is at the head, whose abilities 
and judgment are themselves a guarantee of success. There 
exists (I learn and believe) entire harmony between the 
various benevolent and Christian workers. I anticipate 
great pleasure in the help of the Commission. If the Com- 
mission ever meets with friction, I am persuaded it is due 
to a violation of instructions by delegates, and not to the in- 
structions themselves. These instructions seem here to be 



364 THE POTUMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

adhered to. But the work suflfers somewhat from the iuex- 
perienee of " delegates." I wish that the Commission would 
venture on the employment of a greater number of perma- 
nent agents ; for a few weeks do not suifice to teach a " del- 
egate" his business. "Delegates" and managers have 
repeatedly told me this. The Commission can raise money 
easily enough. Let it employ permanent laborers more 
freely, at a living salary, and it will increase its efficiency 
enormously. 

We were ordered to move, by rail, back to Decherd. Such 
a railway as Ave travelled on is a curiosity. Leading through 
a range of hills, necessitating deep cuts, and one tunnel of 
tAvo thousand two hundred and tAventy-eight feet, the road 
seems built at as little expense as possible. Its cuts are 
exceedingly narrow, as Avell as long and frequent. The blue 
limestone up the sides of these passages seems inclined to 
tumble doAvn in masses. Great cracks are plenty ; and I am 
told that such occurrences are by no means infrequent. The 
grade is enormous ; often, for long distances, you climb at 
the rate of one hundred and seventeen feet to the mile. Often, 
too, all ideas of level seem to be disregarded. You go up 
hill and doAATi hill to save a moderate levelling process. 
There Avere tAVO trains of us that day, and at the Avorst rise 
a third engine came out to help. But it took half an hour to 
get the trains by the siding, to enable the third engine to get 
on to the main track. Then it took time to get the three to 
work together. One engine AA'ould scream twice, which is to 
say, " start up." The second responds, the third agrees. 
But Avhen one pulled, the other two Avere lazy, and so vice 
versa. And so they mixed up things, until one thought, like 
the man Avho " Avorked his passage " on a canal by driving 
the horses on the tow-path, that if it was not for the name 



DAYLIGHT AHEAD. 365 

of riding, one might as Avell go afoot. But wlien Ave had 
passed the tunnel, and came down hill again, things whizzed ! 

But, while in the long and dark tunnel, where in some 
places there were but a few inches extra room, I heard a 
remark which hit my thoughts. It was, " Never mind. 
There's daylight ahead ! " True. And how often, in dark- 
est hours, by watching, we should see " daylight ahead ! " 

How often, when watching does no good, yet by faith we 
might hnoio that " there's daylight ahead ! " In darkness, 
we are tried. We are in trouble. We see no light. But 
God reigns. Have no fear, therefore. Keep on the path 
marked out. A powerful hand will take you through. 
" There's daylight ahead ! " 

We were sent to Decherd because a body of rebel cavalry 
were afloat on the east of the road, and it was not known 
where they would strike. They had come up through some 
gap in the mountains, having crossed the Tennessee. A long 
line of road like this is hard to hold, of course ; but it must 
be held, because the army must be fed. We learned at 
Decherd, that the rebels had occupied McMinnsville, a little 
town at the end of a branch railway, perhaps ten miles off. 
It seems that this was true, and that they made some cap- 
tures. We learned that the rebels were about ten thousand 
strong ! On Monday afternoon we wei-e moved northward 
by rail four miles to Elk River, or Alisonia. Then we 
learned that the railway was cut above. Here we found 
most hospitable friends, and the genial Western kindness — 
of which, by and by. This day we learned that the rebels 
were only eighteen hundred strong ! On Tuesday, we had 
orders to move. Cars did not come as ordered, and we 
travelled eight miles, to Tullahoma. I confess I did not 
prefer walking, but as we had no horses, that was our only 
31* 



366 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

resource. I came to the conclusion, on the road, that every 
commander charged with conducting the march of troops, 
ought to go on foot. Tullahoma, our two regiments had 
settled down, when about ten P. M., trains came along, and 
as there was room for half a regiment, some general ordered 
half of ours into cars. He hurried us with a promptness 
which entitles him to promotion. The cars were crowded, 
and it came on to rain. We were on board at half past ten 
P. M., ; fancy my astonishment, when conductor, brakemen, 
&c., went into their car-room, and went to bed ! They 
waked up, however, at half past four A. M., and we started, 
and went to near a burnt bridge, on a branch of Duck River, 
where we abandoned cars. Then we learned that the rebels 
numbered iifteen thousand, with eighteen pieces of artillery. 
In the middle of the forenoon we were marched. The 
plan was, I suppose, to clear out everything both sides of the 
railway so as to re-open. We, with other troops, Avere to do 
part. We were moved first to Shelbyville to the left of the 
railway, to help catch the rebel cavahy Avho had left that 
town ten hours before we started to march the ten miles. 
We got there. The road lay through most noble groves of 
beech, oak, cedar, and walnut. Shelbyville is a very pretty, 
well built, enterprising town, strongly Union. The chivalric 
rebels had robbed the citizens of clothing, money, and any- 
thing else they fancied. From Shelbyville we took a partly 
built pike road. I never saw a worse yet — saving mud. 
Three miles of it we traversed after dark — partly old, with 
pebbles rounded up ; partly swamp ; partly with broken 
stone, not yet covered with earth ; varied occasionally by 
heaps, of rock not yet levelled ; but the climax was reached 
when, in utter darkness and wet we tumbled off a perpendic- 
ular descent of four feet, where they mean to build a bridge 



HARD MARCHING. 367 

some day. We staggered on till it seemed useless to go 
further ; and the troops were turned into a wood where, after 
candles were lighted, the companies stacked arms. We had 
marched eighteen miles that day, and after I had walked that 
distance with my overcoat and blankets, I rejoiced to learn 
fi-om good Surgeon Heath that there are three layers of skin, 
as we had worn off two thicknesses certain. However, 
though wet and dark, huge fires dried and refreshed us, 
though unfortunately no water could be found short of a mile. 
That day I came to the conclusion that the general conducting 
a march ought not only to go on foot ; he ought also to carry 
fifteen pounds on his back. 

At five A. M. we were again on foot. Two miles to 
Bellbuckle, a raihvay station, and ten more to Christiana. 
At Bellbuckle, we drew part rations — cut down by order of 
General Rosecrans, as a measure of precaution on account 
of inteiTupted commvmications. And that day, I concluded 
that the general conducting a march ought to go on foot, and 
to carry twenty-five pounds on his back instead of fifteen. 

At Christiana we learned facts. The rebels had really about 
four thousand men and .six or seven pieces of artillery. They 
had cut the road in three places — one near Murfreesboro' 
— one at Christiana — and one at Grierson's Creek, a mile 
below Wartrace. At one place the commander loaded his 
men on a train, and started off his six hundred we are told ; 
while thirty rebels came in and burnt the bridge. But if so, 
that commander will catch his deserts. " No bridge guards 
are to surrender ! " Our pursuing cavalry had captured two 
guns, and a couple hundred prisoners. 

We were at Christiana two nights. On Friday evening, 
the road broken on Monday had been repaired, three bridges 
built, and rails replaced ; and the trains came through amidst 



368 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

cheers. The mails, stopped since the Sunday before, were 
to go again. As yet we have no mails, however. Early 
Saturday morning we started, on foot, towards Tullahoma. 
At evening we were tangled up with a brook called Crooked 
Run. After crossing it eleven times, to the great distress of 
artillery, the commander thought it foolish to go farther. 
We had marched twenty-three miles ; and were turned into 
a sorghum field. Mem. Thirty-five pounds instead of hventy- 
five for a leader ! 

We started before daylight. We crossed Crooked Run 
(that is, walked through it) sixteen times before sunrise. 
At the fifteenth, my boots began to feel damp. It is due to 
the public to know that boots Avhich kept feet dry in eleven 
crossings at night, and fourteen in the morning, came from 
Foster & Peahody, Boston. We wound vip out of the cold 
valley at last, into sunshine. Then we could see the mists 
below. Even so the spirit, climbing up into the highlands of 
. God's free love, looks down upon the mists which had so 
chilled him in his low estate. 

To Tullahoma ; and then to Alisonia the same day. To 
get ready for as industrious rains as ever tried to wet us 
through. 



Elk River, Tennessee, October 22, 1863. 

I HAPPENED to be in Nashville (sent there by orders for a 
day) the evening when General Grant arrived, and was at 
the hotel where the coach brought him. A man by no 
means tall, with a frank, honest face, dressed in a brigadier's 
coat, though with major-general's shoulder-straps, came in 
on crutches. That was the general. He was accompanied 



CHICKAMAUGA. 369 

by the usual staff. In the evening a military band and a 
crowd drew him out. The crowd wanted a • speech, but 
couldn't get a word, until somebody felicitously insisted 
" Unconditional surrender ! " The general good naturedly 
submitted so far as to thank them for their good wishes, to 
teU them he never could talk, and he was now too old to 
begin, and to say good night. This hero needs not to talk ; 
his acts speak. Governor Andrew Johnson addressed the 
multitude, hoAvever, and his clear voice was ringing a square 
or two off, as — I confess it — I yielded to appetite, and went 
off in search of beefsteak, rare done, and fried potatoes. 

To conjecture what will take place here would be useless. 

We cannot help wishing that we had here some of the troops 
scattered in separate pieces hundreds of miles away ; or, at 
least, that all worked at the same time. I saw a mule team 
the other day — of which, when one pulled, the other three 
didn't. It seemed to my inexperienced judgment that the 
wagon could not start until the whole four pulled at once. 
And in fact that was the result. But it is hard, doubtless, to 
time eveiy mountain on a line of a thousand miles ; and 
probably when the real history of the war is written, we 
shall wonder at the skill which planned, and the energy 
Avhich executed. In the mean time let us have faith. 

The battle at Chickamauga seemed to excite diverse 
accounts. I have inquired as widely as possible ; and I 
cannot help believing this : That Bragg largely outnumbered 
our forces ; that some troops of ours did break, very badly, 
and in a way that well-disciplined men never do, by which 
we lost guns and supplies ; but that the partial success of the 
enemy was stopped by the skill of General Thomas and the 
bravery of some of the divisions ; and that Bragg entirely 
failed of liis great object, which was to reoccupy Chattanooga. 



370 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Our armj holds its own. But the rebels occupy Lookout 
MouDtain. • A glance at a good map will show jou that this 
commands part of the railroad, if not a more important point 
also, and that the enemy cannot be allowed to remain there. 
It is to be remembered that it was not by battle, but strategy, 
that the enemy were forced to leave Chattanooga ; is it at 
all certain that the enemy may not attempt the same process ? 
The importance of this key point to the insurgents cannot be 
over-estimated. But we have no fears of the result. 

While matters are quiet, we are rejoicing over the election 
returns from Ohio and Pennsylvania. These are victories 
which will discourage the rebels worse than Gettysburg. 
Southern papers were gloating over hoped-for " Peace " 
successes. They are disappointed. I am convinced that 
the bulk of the Opposition have no idea of the sympathy they 
had in the South ; nor of the terrible discouragement it 
would have been to the army had they succeeded. Their 
good men will yet thank God •for failure. As for the real 
Vallandigham stripe — any such hope is foolish. 

Nearly two years ago I wrote that I was convinced, from 
observation in a slave State, that there could be no national 
peace until the whole social — that is, slave — system of the 
South Avas overturned. I have never doubted it since. 
The ruling oligarchy must be utterly overthrown, and their 
power for evil taken away. I do not say that no peace 
ought to be made without the overthrow of slavery ; but that 
no real peace, without that, can be made. It would be a 
mere farce. New men, new systems of industry, new ideas, 
the South needs. 

There is much loyalty in Tennessee. But so far as I have 
now seen it, it is not what is called " Border State " loyalty. 
It is not the loyalty which regards slavery as of more conse- 



LOYALTY. V 371 

quence than the Union. It is becoming more and more dis- 
gusted with this hateful ulcer on civilization. Not that this 
latter feeling is universal ; but it is steadily growing. 

The rebellion in which we are engaged is recognized to be 
one based simply on the determination of a few to continue 
the authority of a caste — the rule of a few educated men 
over a mass of whites and blacks, purposely kept ignorant 
and poor. That rule was growing weak before the progress 
of free thought. Therefore the oligarchy tried to seclude 
themselves in a distinct confederacy. That is the way the 
Union men here look at it. Tennessee is more loyal than 
Virginia, because in Tennessee there is a better state of 
society. In Virginia, the few are educated and luxurious ; 
the many are ignorant and shiftless. In Tennessee there is 
far more uniform intelligence and equalized comfort ; and a 
far nobler race of people. But of this, more by and by. 

In one of the papers which is " loyal," with a strong smell 
of "• if" about it, I find plenty of carping complaints of the 
administration. I find also in the same paper, — 

" For sale. A No. 1 negro man ; sold for no fault." 

And next following, — 

" Horses and mules for sale." 

How significant it is of the character of this contest, mili- 
tary and civil, that those who oppose the administration, 
whether North or South, you may be sure include those who, 
while trading in horses or mules, also sell No. 1 negro men 
" for no fault ! " 



Christiana, Tenn., November 4, 1863. 
We have been beech-nutting down to Anderson. 
We were camped at the bridge over Elk River, where a 



372 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPID AN. 

suitable fortification attests somebody's labors, and where we 
were beside the First Tennessee, colored. A inile north is 
the station of Estell Springs. The name of that place is 
derived from some springs there, and from Dr. Estell of 
that county, who owns the springs. Once it was quite a 
watering-place. Wealthy people came from further South. 
Dr. Estell laid out streets, and sold lots of a quarter acre 
each, for a hundred dollars each. On these lots the pur- 
chasers erected board shanties. And in the shanties, the 
builders who brought their " servants " and force with them, 
managed to get rid of July, August, and September. " They 
purtended it was for their health," said a lonely resident ; 
" but it was to git over the time ; and they didn't else know 
how to "git shet o' ther money." He had seen as many as 
three hundred visitors at this picnicking kind of watering- 
place at once. But now, the boards of the shanties have 
travelled to loyal camps, and a few whites, a few blacks, and 
several pigs and chickens, are the sole denizens of this Ten- 
nesseean Saratoga. Its silence is broken only by the trains 
which stop here to water the engines. The springs remain. 
I tested them the other day. One is what the citizens called 
" kollee-by-it," — the warm flatirons of Mr. Sam. Weller. 
A little distance off are three more ; one is sulphur, one lime, 
and one pure water from sandstone, — all three welling out 
from the hill-side, less than hoo feet apart. The taste from 
the sulphur was — I confess it — my first in life. It was 
also — I assert it — my last forever. Ditto with buttermilk^ 
which I unwittingly put to my lijDS a few weeks ago, and 
never shall again. 

Our men had built comfortable huts, but we had to leave 
them. We were to go to Bridgeport, on the Tennessee River, 
where the new railway bridge was suffered to be finished. 



ANDERSON. 373 

It would be necessary to open the road to Chattanooga. 
The fact was, that as the rebels commanded the road from 
Bridgeport to Chattanooga, all supplies had to be Avagoned 
round over a horrible mountain-road, fifty or sixty miles. It 
was impossible to keep a large army supplied in this way. 
The only question was, between driving the rebels away from 
Lookout Mountain and that neighborhood, and trying how 
long men could live on half rations. We expected, rather, 
to help drive the rebels off, and it was in that expectation 
that our brigade marched to Anderson, — only to march back 
again. 

Anderson lies in a valley. The scenery of the Big Crow 
Creek valley is delightful — home-like, except that in New 
Hampshire we have real rock, and here only limestone. 
Beautiful bottom lands were showing rich crops — of which, 
in the shape of corn, our hungry horses ventured to partake. 
Tobacco, cotton, and corn grew side by side. Lands there 
will bear a hundred bushels of corn to the acre, and the 
cotton would have given an immense profit, but that the 
frosts were too early. 

Anderson is no town. Mr. Anderson lives there, and 
owns nearly the whole valley back to Tantallon, with several 
moimtains, and a few rivers. His land is reckoned by miles. 
"We camped in a beautiful beech wood, whose nuts were good 
and inexhaustible. 

At Anderson thei'e are wonderful springs. One pours out 
from under the mountain a torrent ; and, some hundred 
yards off, is an opening six feet high, into which we walkiid 
upright, until, deep into the hill, Ave reached the brook. 
Stalactites hung from the roof. The brook was coming out 
of the hill still deeper, but Ave could go no further. Tiicrc 
are also in the A-alley extensiA-e Indian mounds, out of Avhich 
32 



374 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

they plough reKcs. This was the old Cherokee country, and 
Crow was a " big Indian," from which was named " Big 
Crow Creek." 

A variety of orders is understood to have mixed matters 
with us there. In fact, they varied the day before. But it 
was settled at last that we return. The Second division 
went on, and took their part in the battle. So, on the 26th, 
we left Anderson. We recrossed the abominable mountain 
by the road which a native told me had been disused since 
the railway was opened. We camped at Cowan — for twenty 
minutes. Because, just then, came orders by telegraph that 
we take the coming train, and go somewhere north. We 
took it, and ovir promptness here served it a good turn ; for 
just after we stai'ted orders came for us not to take the train, 
but to march. Too late, luckily. But at Bellbuckle the 
engine gave out. It was then about two A. M. We left the 
train, and made coffee, and laid down and went to sleep, 
knowing by experience that it was hardly worth while to 
keep awake for the engine that was "just coming." And 
when we waked up the train was still there, waiting for that 
other engine. So it was when we marched, and we left it 
there. Our horses were at Cowan, and nine miles of equal- 
ity tried our boots. 



Elk River, Tenn. November 18, 1863. 

I WROTE how we went down to Anderson, beech-nutting, 
and what fine success we had, — heaps of nuts, — and how 
we went back to Christiana. 

There, the men Avorked like beavers. Tliey tore down old 
huts, — for what Massachusetts regiment could occupy the 
slovenly edifices that the departing troops had left. They 



WESTERN OFFICERS. 375 

built warm houses. One chimney still lingers mournfully in 
my memory. It Avas a beautiful chimney. It did not smoke. 
It threw out the heat delightfully. I shall never be so 
proud of another chimney, never. " I never had a dear 
gazelle," &c. 

That chimney had been finished two days, when orders 
came to move. They shifted the troops guarding different 
points on the road, much like the child-play of " kitchen fur- 
niture change places." A, B, C, and D rushed round into 
each other's posts. They said it was done to bring into jux- 
taposition the scattered parts of some brigade. I wish they 
had thought of the need of concentrating that brigade, when 
they located us a fortnight before, and so saving us seventy 
miles of marching. 

The chief feeling we had in leaving Christiana consisted 
in the unpleasantness of relinquishing our new-built camp to 
the particular set which came. A party of them came in ad- 
vance, and commenced service by the refusal of three officers 
(all the commissioned ones present) to march, when ordered, 
a few miles to relieve an outpost of ours, and so expedite our 
departure. It seemed very strange to us, as we had always 
been taught that orders were to be obeyed. The enlisted men 
seemed good material, although it seemed funny to hear their 
first sergeant, when orders were sent for them at reveille to 
" fall in," answer, ' Why, captain, the boys ain't up yet ! " 
But with good officers, the men would, doubtless, make cap- 
ital soldiers. There is no difference, that I see, between 
Eastern and Western men as to fighting qualities. The 
only distinction between different regiments in general, con- 
sists in the character of the officers, and, therefore, in the 
discipline. I do think that the officers of the Potomac army 
(embracing both Eastern and Western troops), were better 



/ 

3 70 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

taught than any others I have seen ; I mean, as a whole. 
Not but that orders have been strict enough. We have a 
pile of old ones, and they are comprehensive and decided. 
But they remind one, in their repetitions, of the girl, who 
said her brother Jack wouldn't lie. " Jack won't lie," said 
she ; " he's afraid to lie, for mother has scolded him fifty 
times for it." 

In the recent affair, the Potomac men met their old Vir- 
ginia foe, and showed what they could do. The Eleventh 
corps, Avhich has had reflections cast upon it, acquitted 
itself nobly. Massachusetts blood flowed there, — in the 
Thirty-third. That Colonel Underwood, formerly a captain 
in the Second, was mortally Avounded, his old comrades were 
pained to hear. He is too true a man, too excellent a sol- 
dier, to be spared. Glad were Ave to learn later, that hopes 
existed of his recovery. Passing by us since, he was as 
cheerful as ever. 

Matters are conducted here rather different from the Vir- 
ginia method, as to guerillas. They have a short shrift. 
For instance, a commander reported, a while ago, that he 
had met twenty guerillas ; he had killed eight, and captured 
tAvelve ; but, unfortunately, in bringing his prisoners into 
camp, they all fell off a log, and broke their necks. It is 
hardly to be wondered at that such accidents occur. Ten- 
nessee soldiers are men whose houses have been burned, 
their families abused, their relatives murdered in cold blood, 
a price set on their heads. It is no wonder they are im- 
placable. Nor can one pity the murderous guerilla taken 
in the act. 

There is really much Union feeling hereabouts. And some 
of it is very strong, though some is evidently merely from 
self-intei'est. There is a theory which vdll go with the Avinning 



MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS. 377 

side. But, at present, I hope that government will not trust 
them. The " radical " policy, I cannot help feeling, is the 
only one for Tennessee, and all the South. Precisely that 
feeling do the real sturdy Union men have, I have heard 
the strongest desires expressed that slavery be got rid of. 
Men speak of it as the cause of the whole trouble, and the 
future disease, if not now removed. Even repentant seces- 
sionists say the same thing. As for an election being held 
here — anywhere near us men could not go to the polls with 
the slightest security. 

How gloriously Massachusetts has maintained itself in the 
recent election ! There was a little danger that the dominant 
party would not feel the necessity of a large vote ; but such 
fears are not realized. I have heard many a glad mention 
of the result, and not one expression to the contrary. It is 
astonishing how soon soldiers see where the wicked cause of 
the rebellion is. The army is abolitionized. 

The result in Massachusetts is wonderful, in that, by both 
platforms, the State is unanimous for the prosecution of the 
war. The majority, however, is anti-slaveiy. Do you ever 
think how a man must feel, a few years hence, when liberty 
exists all over the land, to think that he had no part in the 
glorious work, or worse, that he sided with slavery ? For 
myself, I look for the only true policy — that which declares 
slavery in any State is contrary to natural right, and therefore 
unlawful. Let us get rid of the wickedness everywhere. 
The time is coming, for the Lord reigneth. 

As to this railway, — the line of road from Nashville to 
Bridgeport, is one hundred and twenty-three miles long. It 
is the only avenue of supplies. Its importance is readily 
seen. Distances in this country are enormous. I have 
been figuring lap some of them, and sum up the results : 
32* 



878 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

If from Chattanooga one could go to Cluirleston, he would 
travel four hundred and forty-six miles : to Savannah, four 
hundred and thirty-one. 

The rebels from their capital are distant, by the old rail- 
Avay, six hundred and two ; by a circuitous route, eight hun- 
dred and eighty-four. We from ours, sixteen hundred and 
sixty-two, or by the road, in rebel hands, six hundred and 
twenty-one. 

In reenforcing our army from Virginia, v/e had twelve 
hundred and sixteen miles ; the rebels from their position, 
five hundred and thirty-five miles, — of which, however, a 
part had to be made by marching, unless they preferred to go 
by railway, over a route of eight hundred and nineteen. At 
worst for them, their distance was but two thirds of ours. 

If from Chattanooga one Avished to go to Boston, he could 
choose one of several routes : 

By way of the rebel roads, now badly obstructed, he would' 
travel ten hundred and eighty-two miles, unless he stopped in 
Richmond. 

By way of Indianapolis, Crestline line, and Buffalo, fifteen 
hundred and twenty-one miles. 

By way of Indianapolis, Pittsbui'g, Harrisburg, AUentown, 
and New York, fifteen hundred and nine miles. 

By Avay of Indianapolis, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia, fif- 
teen hundred and twenty-one miles. 

By way of Cincinnati, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia, four- 
teen hundred and ninety-two miles. 

By Avay of Cincinnati, Pittsburg, and New York, fourteen 
hundred and eighty miles. 

By Avay of "Washington, sixteen hundred and twenty-three 
miles. 

Any way, it is imcomfortably far from home ! Home ! 
But over the fifteen hundred miles the heart goes in an instant. 



THANKSGIVING DAY. 379 



CHAPTER XV, 



LIFE IN TENNESSEE. 



Elk. River (Alisona), Tenn., November 27, 1863. 

Yester'^ay was Thanksgiving Day. Nobody needs to be 
told how our hearts turned homeward. It was with no 
unworthy or unmanly motives that every one thought how 
pleasant it would be to enjoy the festival with families and 
friends. 

Our day was beautiful. After a cold night, the sun rose 
beautifully lear, and soon melted away the frost. It was 
quite war"! long before noon. We had, of course, our 
usual religious sei'vice at eleven o'clock — gathering beside 
the formid ble fortification which frowns from the top of the 
hill, and under the flag which there was wind enough to 
float. It wr.s our " storm" flag, not our battle flag ; that is 
guarded as tenderly as a saint's relics, and only used when, 
although t bear it is almost a sentence of death, it waves 
defiance to the enemy, and when each man of our color- 
guard springs to catch it from the hands of the dying. But 
the storm 'ag Avaved near us. We were but a handful. 
Three tim ^ have we celebrated Thanksgiving Day, and each 
since the first with rapidly diminishing numbers. The dead 
sleep on e- ^ry battle-field. 

The men played ball, of course. And they had their din- 



380 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

Tier. It Avas impossible, iu preparing, to get any supplies 
from Nashville, because the capacity of the railway is tried 
severely to carry the necessaries of life. So a large party 
had been sent out, M^ell armed, into the country to make pro- 
vision. They were gone two days, and found, at a distance 
of some fifteen miles, plenty of geese, chickens, and the like, 
which the people were very ready to sell. It would seem 
queer to friends at home, in doing their Thanksgiving mar- 
keting, to have to go fifteen miles, and take fifty well armed 
men as a matter of safety. 

I have " figured up " a little ; and to show that there was 
enough to eat, report that the ratio of supply was this : 
to every hundred men, fourteen geese, four tui'keys, and 
forty chickens ; besides a few quails, a pig, and some plum 
puddings. And plenty of geese still quack, reserved for sub- 
sequent eating. 

In the evening, the ofiicers came together, inviting also the 
officers of the excellent Second Kentucky battery. Singing and 
social pleasantry made the hours pass rapidly. Some of our 
officers came back : they love the old homestead. And the 
brigade band, some of whose members used to belong to our 
old regimental band, came on foot for eight miles (they 
would have come by rail, but that no trains ran, and they 
waited till impatient), and discoursed most beautiful music. 



Elk River (Alisona), Tenn., November 27, 1863. 

When we first came down this railway, we saw at 
"VVartrace a squad of colored men ; we learned that they had 
just come in to enlist ; and we found that parties came daily 
for that purpose. At Elk River we passed the camp of a 



NEGRO SOLDIERS. 381 

whole regiment, the First Tennessee, and on our return we 
were camped just beside them. They wei'e commanded by 
Colonel Thompson, an active, energetic son of Maine, 
recently on General Rosecrans's staff, and numbered about 
eight hundred. Their camp was clean and orderly. No 
regiment could be better behaved. We witnessed one dress 
parade ; and, considering that they had been but few weeks 
in service, it was the decision of our men that it was 
excellent : and if the men of ours say so it is so. 

They were doing considerable picket duty ; and no men 
covdd be mere faithful. There Avas a shiftless white regiment 
near, which would not associate with these blacks as soldiers. 
But those whites would sit down while on picket duty ; no 
black was known to do such a thing. Keen, alert, and faithful 
— their main fault was an excess of care — as they would fire 
at everything that looked doubtful. 

They were uneducated. Most could not read ; so that a 
pass was ot very little use. And they made havoc of names. 
Thus, wh^n " Ticonderoga " was one day the countersign, 
the nearest that one of them got it was " Ticonsternation ! " 
But who i,: responsible for this ignorance? What are the 
stories good for, that Southerners did teach their slaves to 
read, wheu hardly one out of eight hundred Alabama and 
Tennessee slaves knew a letter ? 

But they were faithful. They obeyed orders. They did 
their dutj One day there were four men on picket together 
— all black — a corporal and three privates. Just enlisted 
these thrcC, it happened, did not know how to load their 
pieces. Guerillas fired on them and killed one. The 
corporal and the other two stood to their places, and w^hile 
the corporal loaded the pieces, the two privates stood and 
fired deliberately, each waiting his turn, and neither stirred 



382 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

until relieved by a party sent to the sound of the guns. I 
doubt if white soldiers would show better pluck. 

There was, really, a manliness about these black soldiers 
which inspired respect. Make a soldier of a slave, and he 
feels he is a man. Slavery restored would be a nice thing if 
a hundred thousand of them had learned to use the musket ! 
Almost all these men Avere fugitives. They had been 
oppressed. But the moment they became soldiers, they 
seemed to change. They felt that they were in a holy cause. 
Why not ? If it was right for Moses to lead those slaves — 
the children of Israel — out of Egypt, it is right for any 
new instrument of God to lead these people out of their 
accursed bondage. The Red Sea has parted. "Woe to the 
pursuers. Foolish and hardened, they do not see that the 
walls are only of water. The roar of the returning waves is 
already heard. Do the idiotic oppressors think they can 
roll back the wrath of the Almighty ? 

I was informed, also, by a man whose face grew sternly 
sad as he told me, that these men's backs are almost all 
hideously scarred by the lash. The accounts of Southern 
brutality were sickening. Of the deaths in that regiment, 
almost every one, the surgeon said, was duo to the past bru- 
tal ti'eatment, which had broken their constitutions. Kind, 
patriarchal system ! A lovely system for Christian men to 
say of, " We have nothing to do with it ! " But, alas ! for 
our blindness. 

I have read in a Tennessee paper — opposed to the admin- 
istration of course — an advertisement of a Avoman whose 
" servant had run away." She says he " calls himself a 
preacher," and that he is of good manners, &c. ; and if any- 
body will put him into a certain "jail," she Avill pay a suit- 
able " reward." Well, I call myself " a preacher," and I 



BARBARISM OF SLAVERY. 383 

feel for that preacher. Paul says he was " a preacher " also. 
Paul was put in jail, too, as this Avoman wants to put this 
man. This preacher is accused of no crime, but she wants 
to put him in jail, nevertheless. The matter puzzled me. 
Do they put preachers in jail down here. If so, it is unsafe 
to venture out of camp. In thinking it over, I have come 
to this conclusion : It is the duty of government to protect 
all its citizens, and guarantee their safety from "jail," except 
for crime. Every citizen has a right to demand this. This 
man is a citizen, or, being native born, ought to be declared 
so by act of Congress. Government ought to protect him 
in his rights. It ought to punish anybody that puts him in 
jail ; and ought to take him out of jail, if anybody puts him 
in, " anything in the laws of any State to the contrary not- 
withstanding." That's my doctrine, square. 

By the way, it is, perhaps, worth mentioning, that when 
some prisoners, coming in (Longstreet's men), were jeered a 
little, being asked, " How did you get caught? " they replied, 
" You had to get men from the army of the Potomac to do 
it ; we should have walked over you easy enough." There 
has been a great change in feeling towards the Potomac men 
since that affair. At first they were called " fancy soldiers," 
because both men and officers had never been taught that it 
was the sign of an especially good soldier to be remarkably 
dirty and slovenly. But they are now seen to be as eminent 
in valor as in everything else. The western army never had 
such foes as they do now. 



Elk Riveh, Tenn., December 24, 1863. 
Who can help rejoicing at the President's proclamation ? 
It holds out the olive branch, but on terms that preserve our 



384 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN 

principles. It makes no treaty with rebels, but demands 
unconditional submission. It retains justice, but tempers it 
with mercy. It restores forfeited privileges, but secures the 
public safety. It assumes that the rebel State governments 
are extinct, but it provides for new loyal ones. Above all, 
it demands submission on the very point of issue — slavery. 
Slavery must end — I Avish I could say everywhere — in 
every rebel State. Thank God that the plain, licaest, manly 
common sense of our President has taken this course. He 
stands by the proclamation ; and so does the army ; and so 
do the people. Of course copperheads will hiss. But who 
cares ! 

As to slavery in the excepted States, it is not worth dis- 
puting about. With constant enlistments from the slaves, 
with the independent feeling spread where the arniy goes, and 
with a resolute abolition party inci'easing, the case reminds 
one of a black who once had pvirchased half of himself. His 
boat overset one day, and he was with difRculty saved from 
drowning. Being asked what his thoughts were while in 
danger, he replied, " I thought what a fool I was to lay out 
my money on sich onsarten property as niggers ! " 

And yet I wish, for the moral wholeness of the thing, that 
slavery could be declared outlawed everywhere. It is time to 
be done with the humbug that the general government cannot 
protect the inalienable rights of every person Avho lives under 
the stars and stripes. 

But I believe, on the whole, in " compensated emancipa- 
tion." The masters have robbed and abused the slaves for a 
great many years. It is not fair to turn these blacks out 
into the woi'ld Avithout paying them for past labor. Besides, 
if, as the masters say, the blacks cannot take care of them- 
selves, the freedmen will need their wages, now long overdue. 
Therefore, compensate them for their past labor. 



ME. FOX'S VISIT. 385 

Chattanooga, Tenn., January 5, 1864. 

How I happened to go to Chattanooga was on this wise : 
One day there came into camp the Rev. Thomas B. Fox, 
whom Governor Andrew had sent as a special agent to see 
Massachusetts regiments and Massachusetts soldiers in 
hospital, in this division. Governor Andrew is always send- 
ing agents, or writing letters, or making speeches, or coaxing 
officials, for the benefit of our soldiers. The soldiers will 
always remember their large-hearted governor. So Mr. Fox 
was sent, and he came to our regiment. His visit did us 
good. If the governor is as wise in all his selections, he is a 
wise governor. The visit occurred at a time of particular 
interest. The plan of reenlistment was before us. Mr. Fox 
helped it on finely. Apart from this, his address, conveying 
to us the assurance of the interest felt at home — was, for 
beauty, completeness, and heartiness, never surpassed by 
anything I ever heard. 

Many men have reenlisted. In writing before, I had not 
faith enough. As it is, the bounties utterly failed of any 
effect on the men who enlisted on eleven dollars a month and 
no bounty. The only effective appeal proved to be that 
which led them to say, " We can't leave that old flag to 
strangers." 

The agent kindly asked me to accompany him to Chat- 
tanooga, and addressed a request to that effect to our corps 
commander, which was agreed to. I had to apply, myself, 
for the formal pass ; let me tell you just how much formality 
was requisite in getting it. 

First, you write out an application, and you place it in the 
hands of the adjutant, who is the colonel's prime minister. 
The colonel signs his approval. You want to take the paper 
33 



386 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

yourself to higher quarters, instead of waiting for the slow 
routine. So the colonel signs a special permission for you to 
do so. The higher quarters are at Tullahoma, and to get 
there, the adjutant furnishes you, by the colonel's direction, 
with a written document to that effect ; and for transpor- 
tation, the quartermaster gives you another paper, also by the 
colonel's order. And thus you are empowered to go seven 
miles ! 

At the railway you catch a train. The military conductor 
examines your military pass, and keeps it Avhen used. The 
civilian conductor takes your transportation paper. You get 
to TuUahoma, and go to brigade headquarters, and, if you 
are as fortunate as I was, find our good Brigadier-General 
Ruger, just ready for breakfast, and he invites you to break- 
fast (not officially, you knoAV, but friendly), and you get a 
capital breakfast. You don't hint anything about business at 
meal time ; it " isn't the thing, you know." But after break- 
fast you give your application to the general's assistant 
adjutant-general, with yovir written permission to come your- 
self; and he asks the general, and the general signs it, and 
the clei'k makes a minute of it, and the A. A. G-. gives you a 
written permission to take it to the general of division. You 
go there and hand over both papers, and the A. A. G. gets 
the approval, and his clerk records it, and the A. A. G. gives 
you a new written permission to take it to corps headquarters. 
There the A. A. G. goes through similar processes, — clerk 
and aU, — and you get a new document empowering you to 
go as you asked. And our gallant major-general drops into 
the office and has a friendly chat — perhaps. Then you go 
to the post quartermaster's, to get a transportation paper ; 
he is gone to Nashville, and his clerk is gone to dinner ; but 
when he comes back you have to go to the colonel command- 



TO CHATTANOOGA. 387 

ing the post, and he approves (after seeing your last paper), 
and yon go back and the clerk writes out the transportation 
pass, and you hurry to the cars while it is raining furiously. 
That is, that "was my experience. 

Is all this routine really needful ? Yes. If I had room to 
explain it you would be satisfied that to omit any step would 
put things into a " muddle." Nevertheless it is a bore. 
Try it some day, when you want to take a little trip. 

We tried to go on Tuesday, December 29, but the train 
did not stop ; but we succeeded on Wednesday. The train 
stops at Decherd for dinner, K anybody invites you to do 
so, don't you do it. Be warned in time. On the train, the 
civilian conductor exauiines your transportation paper, and 
the military one your military pass. The civil was not mil- 
itary, but the military man was civil. Nevertheless, he 
insisted on keeping my pass, because, he argued, that it was 
not good as far as Stevenson, on the ground that it covered 
ten miles beyond? I afterwards recovered it, however, by 
arguments effective and honest, but potent. Mr. Fox had no 
trouble, for he was loaded with all manner of authority from 
General Grant and a crowd of others. 

It was after dark when Stevenson was reached, and it 
was raining. No passenger car runs further, and one hunts 
around until he guesses which baggage car (not of the train 
just arrived) is likely to go. We luckily discovered, at the 
last moment, the right car. Ten miles on is Bridgeport — a 
town without a house in it. Darkness, rain, and mud were 
uncomfortable to total strangers. But we found the 
Sanitary Commission, God bless it. It was in tents. But 
what a change ! Out of the cold and driving storm into 
warm quarters, with a cup of excellent tea speedily made for 
the writer's racking headache — excellent blankets to sleep 



3«8 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

ill, on a hay stiiffefl bed, and with good Dr. Coates as the 
presiding genius. And other travellers, and suffering soldiers 

— all taken care of — fed, clothed, wounds dressed, beds 
furnished at the Home. I tell you, people at the North, 
pile up your supplies, give your money, strengthen the Com- 
mission every way. That Commission saves life. 

From Bridgeport to Chattanooga, as yet, we go by boat 

— the boat was " in " the next morning, but it came late in 
the afternoon. It would leave in three hours. Transpor- 
tation papers must be had ; and at the otfice, far away from 
the boat, they said it would leave in^ve hours. We go with 
others to the boat ; now it will leave in the night some time. 
The Sanitary has a Home there (not the headquarters), and 
we go in to wait. Before midnight we find the boat will go 
in the morning. In the various tents of the Commission are 
two hundred and fifty sheltered. The night becomes savagely 
cold. It is impossible to keep warm or sleep. In our tent 
are men, women, and children — white refugees from 
Southern tyranny, included. For the fun of the thing, I 
went to chopping wood at half past two A. M., with the ther- 
mometer down out of sight of freezing. But in the group 
was a pretty little girl of two years, with parents escaping 
with only life from their burning house, fired by Southern 
brutality. 

In the morning the boat will leave at eleven. So we walk 
back to Sanitary headquarters. It was a bitterly cold day. 
There is a crowd. Here a soldier to go North, his arm is 
dressed, he is fed ; thinly clothed — a Avarm woollen sack is 
buttoned on him, and the armless sleeve pinned over, and he 
goes off happy. Another is on crutches, his wound is cared 
for, he is supplied as the other, and is helped to the cars. 
Here, a lone woman, all the way from New Jersey, to find 



THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 389 

her sick husband — mild, patient, grateful, careless of fatigue, 
with miles yet to go, and she is sheltered, fed, and directed ; 
a good woman, she says she has " found only Christian 
people all the way." A mother, who has come to see her 
wounded son, an officer. Alas ! his corpse has passed her on 
the road, and she is to return. And so with the multitude. 
But perhaps as near to the heart as anybody — a little girl 
of five yeai'S, who, with others, had sat in baggage cars all 
the cold night (in which time three soldiers had perished of 
cold), the managers had carelessly unfastened that car, and 
left it. The little girl, half frozen and crying, had come up 
wdth the others to the Sanitary. And now, w^armed and 
fed, the child was happy, and I showed her the picture of 
another little girl, and we were friends, and when she left 
they wrapped warm things around her, and pulled socks over 
her shoes, and a strong helper carried her in his arms to the 
train. The Sanitary cared for the little girl ; it was some- 
body's child ; and so for the love of a blue-eyed girl at home, 
I owe just as much debt as anybody, and say again, God 
bless the Sanitary ! 

On the boat. It is to leave at twelve. To leave at two. 
To leave at five. It did leave at seven. It was the Paint- 
Rock, — a floor, with a funny old two-story barn on it, and a 
wheezy tea-kettle arrangement for running it. The weather 
was horribly cold. The " cabin " was a canvas box on top 
of the aforesaid barn. A few inches of it was warmed by 
an ancient cooking-stove, one door of -which had departed. 
It is sixty-two miles to Chattanooga by river, it is twenty- 
eight by rail. 

As to scenery, I remember that the rushing river looked 
like quicksilver as we entered the boat. The night was too 
cold for peeping out again till morning, and then only to see 
33* 



390 THE rOTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

that men were cutting the ice off the stern wheel, and that 
huge icicles fringed the cliffs which bordered the river. 
Within, one could study human nature. Decency required 
that persons should give way to others in turn near the stove. 
Many did, some did not, I was interested in studying one 
man. He had a Avarm corner, and there he staid. He Avas 
'a major of infantry, by his dress, — dressed showily, — with 
very dark eyes, and black mustache, etc., in regular dress 
uniform, felt hat and braid cord, and dark blue trowsers. 
He would have looked handsome, but for his insufferable ' 
hoggishness. Hints and open requests were useless ; but his 
hours of sitting ended, I think, by his getting into the cap- 
tain's room ; anyhow, he disappeared till morning. He came 
to Chattanooga. I don't know his regiment. I wish I did. 
However, if anybody knows a major (not the one of the 
Tenth Kentucky) who was on the Paint-Rock on ■ its trip to 
Chattanooga, January 1-2, 1864, he will inform that major 
that, in the unanimous opinion of the passengers, he is the 
most despicable hog that injures the reputation of that com- 
paratively respectable animal. 

On the boat were some delegates of the Christian Commis- 
sion. They had some private stores of food ; but they, in 
the dearth, shared with all. They made tea, they furnished 
bread. They did all the good possible. The passengers 
became their warm friends, from the conduct of these dele- 
gates, which was truly Christian. I was glad to meet Rev. 
Calvin Holman, of New Hampshire, and it was pleasant to 
pass much of the night together in common topics. The 
Commissidh opened its doors here to shelter to its utmost 
capacity ; and there the soldier's Avife found friends to help 
her to her husband. 

Pulled up the rapids by ropes, or Avorked up by steam far 



JOHNNY CLEM. Siil 

liijjher than the government allowance of pressure ; si"-htin"- 
bold Lookout, the scene of gallant combat, around its base — 
and so, about nine P, M., we reached Chattanooga. Hos- 
pitable doors are open, and friends are found. 

I intended, at Chattanooga, to write out notes on several 
matters there. They were about Lookout Mountain and 
Mission Eidge ; the Sanitary Commission, and Dr. Reed in 
charge ; the Christian Commission, and Mr. Lawrence in 
charge ; the chaplain's meeting ; the National Cemetery, al- 
ready planned, and the Mortuary Record ; the recruiting 
office for colored troops, under Mr. John A. Spooner, of Old 
Plymouth ; and Sergeant Johnny Clem, the youngest soldier 
in the army, being twelve years of age. The world will 
never know what it has lost, which is my chief consolation in 
so distressing a trial as that of consigning one's pages to the 
fireplace. But I will save one section. It is concerning 
Sergeant Johnny Clem. 

Johnny is a boy of twelve, and was born in Newark, 
Ohio. He measures four feet and one inch in height. He 
has a frank, pleasant, firm face, with light eyes and hair. 
He dresses neatly, sports his sergeant's chevrons and a pistol. 
Johnny has been in service, off and on, for two years. At 
present he belongs to the Twenty-second Michigan, in which 
he enlisted as drummer. At the battle of Chickamauga 
he was a marker ; and there he slibwed courage. I met an 
account of that affair of his some time since ; but I thought 
it Avorth while to get his oaati statement. Here it is in his 
own exact language : — 

" We were making a charge. As I was rallying, the rebel 
colonel rode up to me, and said, ' Halt, surrender, you 

[sweai'ing] '. I had my gun at right shoulder shift. I 

fetched it to a shoulder, and just at that he struck at me with 



392 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

his sword, and I knocked off his guard, and cooked my 
piece (which I could easily do, being so short, without his 
noticing my cocking it) ; fetched it to a charge bayonet. He 
rode right up in front of my gun, and Avas just going to 
knock it out of the way and cut my head off ; and just at that 
I pulled it off, and the bullet went right through his breast." 

So Sergeant Johnny got his promotion. He had, when I 
saw him, his "descriptive list" with him — being just on 
his way back as a returned prisoner from Wheeler's raid. 
Johnny is really a manly looking little fellow ; is self-pos- 
sessed, but modest ; talks freely, but not about his affair 
unless others ask him. It is a wonder he has not been 
spoiled, but no trace of such a result appears. He used to 
drink whiskey and swear, but he has been taught better, he 
says. 

Some few items regarding the condition of rebeldom I 
think worth recording. 

The destitutions Avhicli are said to prevail, undoubtedly do 
exist in some sections. For instance, the large tracts of 
country which lie near, but outside our lines, are filled with 
suffering people.- These people are in a particularly unfor- 
tunate position, because really enjoying no advantage which 
those have who belong somewhere definite. Their means of 
support are in a great measure cut off. The men are to a 
very great extent in the rebel army, having either gone vol- 
imtarily or been forced there by conscription. The farms 
are ravaged by roving bands of guerillas, who are nearly as 
terrible to friend as foe. What crops have been gathered 
are apt to be seized for public service, excepting enough for 
bare subsistence. South of Duck River, Tennessee (some 
forty miles, I believe, south of Nashville), no trade is allowed. 
The army itself cannot sell provisions, nor is any method 



REBEL DESTITUTION. 393 

adopted of issuing food. There is an exception to this effect : 
that, as owners of slaves are obliged to furnish a certain 
amount of cut wood for railway purposes, those men can 
receive a certain allowance of provisions ; and all others, in- 
deed, to whom the railAvay gives employment. Then there 
are some families which have managed to secure " protec- 
tions," and are in near neighborhood to our posts. Close by 
oiu" last camp were two women, whose husbands were in the 
rebel army, as officers, I believe, who had a " safeguard " 
from general Rosecrans. Why it was given to the property 
of these rank rebels I do not know, but it was, of coui'se, 
religiously observed. These women used to charge us 
twenty cents a quart for the meanest milk I ever saw, while 
one of them was carried through a fever gratuitously by our 
good surgeon, medicines included in the gratuity. Another 
family used to bake bread (of our flour) for us, at the rea- 
. sonable rate of five or six times the value of the article. 

But many families have no such resource. Some of our 
men, while out on duty one day, found a family whose sole sup- 
port for seven days had been corn meal purchased by a single 
doUar given by a soldier, for a family of father (a cripple), 
mother, and five children. For two or three days more om* 
men shared their hard bread with them. Utterly helpless as 
they were, our colonel saw they did not suffer, until they 
could be brought in and sent northward. Before we left, 
one train (a sample) was loaded to its utmost with families 
of this starving population, who Avere being taken where they 
could be fed. It was, of course, out of the question to take 
supplies to svich, over a road severely taxed to feed our 
armies. Thus it is that our government feeds the suffering, 
wliile many are the wives and children of rebels. But even 
such must not be left to starve. Christian charity forbids. 



394 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

I was much interested in the families I casually met. 
They were refugees. A husband and wife, and a husband, 
wife, and sweet little child. The men had been in the rebel 
army. They had joined it not willingly, but yielding to a 
necessity. One had been a druggist, and was a man of few 
words but of fair intelligence. The other, I think, a farmer. 
Both men had escaped from the army in Longstreet's move- 
ment on Knoxville. They had got back to their homes, in 
the north part of Georgia, and had hid in the woods. I asked 
them if their friends did not know of their being there. " Yes," 
they said, " but we had no fear, except from two families 
Nobody else would betray us." They said that all others there 
were Union in feeling. Rebels had hunted for them in vain. 
Though in danger, they would not leave without their fam- 
ilies ; and, at last, when these families had had their houses 
burned, and the women left shelterless, they made a deter- 
mined effort, and succeeded in escaping. The little clothing 
they had was all they could save. But they were happy to 
be within our lines, and on their way North. They intended 
to go to Ohio, and endeavor to earn a living. 

I asked them if the President's proclamation of amnesty 
had been circulated. They said it had, to some extent, and 
was fast spreading. Its effect, they said, was good. " We 
have always been told," said the elder, " that our property 
would be all taken away ; and, indeed, some acts at "Wash- 
ington made us think so. But now we know we can save 
our property, most everybody wants to submit." 

" But you have abandoned your property." 

" Yes, but the land we own is there. They can't move 
that ; and when the war is over, we can get its value." 

*■' But," said I, " you cannot keep your slaves under this 
proclamation." 



REFUGEES. 395 

The wife of one, an intelligent and pleasant woman, in- 
stantly answered, " We have no slaves, nor do most of the 
people ; and so it is nothing to us. Let the men who own 
the slaves, and got up the war on that account, lose them. 
They ought to." 

" Is that a widespread feeling?" 

" Yes. There are but a few hvmdred thousand slave- 
holders, and Ave began to think that they used us to keep 
theii' power." 

I cannot, of course, tell how much such feelings have 
spread. But they do evidently have considerable sway. 
Very large numbers of refugees have come into our lines, 
and all tell the same story. 

Among other facts, one of these men told me that he had 
to pay for the ordinary felt hat he wore, two hundred and 
fifty dollars in confederate money. He had had considera- 
ble, but gave it all away to friends, as of no further use to 
him. A lawyer whom I knew, who was taken prisoner at 
Chickamauga, and sent to Richmond, had to pay (and it was 
only the. usual price), eighteen dollars for having his boots 
half-soled ; and each half sole was made of three pieces of 
leather ; this Avas in confederate money ; in greenbacks, it 
would have been only a fraction of that. 

The number of deserters coming *in is quite large. All 
agree that the woods and hills are full of such. All said 
that rebel soldiers were constantly searching for them ; and 
so closely that, after making a little fire, they always moved 
away quickly to another spot. 

My OAATi impressions were that these accounts were true. 
And hence I am inclined to give credence to the other 
accounts we receive. But I think that the sufierings are 
only local, not universal. There must be much difiiculty 



396 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

in obtaining the necessaries of life, merely on account of high 
prices — where wages are fixed as those of soldiers are, and 
yet whose families must be sustained. 

But it is not likely that any such want is universal. 
Doubtless many persons have made fortunes in the vSouth 
out of the war. They sell high for confederate money, 
it is true, but confederate money will buy lands there. 
Very large sections in the South are stiU cultivated by 
slaves, which enables the whites to fill up the arrnies. 
There is no reason in imagining we are to reduce the revolted 
territory to obedience, by their necessities, because such a 
land is not to be starved out. A military despotism, too, 
stifles the cries of the actual sufierers. "We must fight it 
out. 

Nor is it good judgment to suppose that the rebel armies 
are to crumble by desertions. Doubtless, the bulk of their 
soldiery is under strict discipline, and will remain in arms 
until the leaders are overthrown. "We must not calculate on 
anything but overpowering force on our part. If we depend 
on anything else, we shall wake to the delusion in terrible 
disasters. If they are weaker, now is the time to overAvhelm 
them with armies it would be madness to resist. 

Just now everything indicates that the rebel leaders are pre- 
paring for a desperate spring campaign. They are putting 
every available man into the ranks. They are straining every 
nerve to equip their forces. That they Avill make a tremen- 
dous effort, is clear. If they succeed in that effort, they will 
protract the war. If they fail, we may safely believe that 
the disintegrating causes at work will speedily end the sti'ife. 
Shall they fail ? At the South, every man possible is made 
a soldier. Their farms, theiu cities, are almost bare of men. 
Here, I cannot tell, from the crowded streets of Boston, that 



HOME. 397 

a siugle man has gone. It rests with the people to say 
whether this war shall virtually end the next campaign. Do 
not leave the old soldiers alone. Join them, young men, and 
take to yourselves part of the crowning glory. 

It took much less time to get from Chattanooga to camp, 
than from camp to Chattanooga. For, the sixty-two miles 
of river was down stream ; and a boat kept in the current 
would slide do^vna faster than steam could push it up. Six 
hours brought us to Bridgeport. . The train which runs to 
Stevenson we discovered after a long search. There is no 
station house, and the train starts from anywhere in a range 
of two miles, and any time in a range of three hours. It 
was ten miles to Stevenson, and the train worked hard to 
get there. I saw it come in at last — having concluded with 
a few others to leave the train, after three hours of terribly 
cold travelling in freight cars un warmed, and walk to Steven- 
son. It was occasionally doubtful which would beat ; but 
eventually we came in a few lengths ahead of the train, at 
twenty-five minutes past one o'clock A. M. No station 
house there ; but we found two passenger cars locked up, 
from whose windows streamed a bright light. A colonel in 
our party kicked the door in, and we found seats and snoring 
sleepers. If the government could afford at Stevenson a 
Avarm room, or even any room in which wounded, or even 
well soldiers, could find shelter prior to the departure of a 
train (which is at three A. M.), it would lessen the amount 
of profanity cold winter nights. Profanity is wicked ; but 
the ofiicials deserve the curses. At eight A. M, I was eat- 
ing breakfast in our own camp. 

I left Chattanooga suddenly, on learning that the official 
sanction was ready for our return Home. I could not risk 
losing one of the most supreme pleasures of which I could 
34 



398 THE POTOMAC AND THE RAPIDAN. 

conceive. To go home with the regiment which had earned 
for itself an imperishable record, — it was a day of a life- 
time. 

To return with two hundred men, toughened by near three 
years of hardships, trained by the hardest battle fields, pur- 
chased by the best blood of Massachusetts ; — 

To show the Old Flag, never carried but in battle, rid- 
dled by bullets, often falling from the stiifening hand, but 
never to the earth, always making the men about it invin- 
cible ; — 

To see the tearful faces of friends, brave friends, brave 
mothers, remembering heroically the dead children, who went 
with us when the war was young ; — 

To be welcomed as those who have done their duty ; for 
of our dead, none died but as heroes die ; — 

And then, when the few days of furlough end, to rejoin 
the armies of the Union, and -witness the final glory of the 
Flag ! 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Lieut., at battle of Ce- 
dar Mountain, 192. 

Abercrombie, Gen., in command 
of Second brigade, 20 ; in the 
movement on Winchester, 105. 

Alexandria, village of, 209 ; de- 
scribed, 322, 337. 

Alisonia, 365, 379, 380 ; colored 
troops at, 381, 383. 

Altamont, village of, 359. 

Alvord, Rev. J. A., his labors, 
288, 289, 336. 

Ambulance System, the, 229, 
253, 314-320, 330-332. 

Amissville, village of, 180. 

Anderson, village of, 373. 

Anderson, Rev. J., 334. 

Andrews, Lieut. Col., 123 ; com- 
mander of Corps d'Afrique, 227. 

Andrew, Gov., his labors for sol- 
diers, 385. 

Annandale, village of, 341. 

Antietam campaign, the, 210- 
239; battle of Antietam, 216. 

Antietam iron works, 248. 

Ashby's cavalry at battle of 
Kernstown, 115. 

Aquia Creek, 288 ; described, 307. 



Baker, Col., commands expedi- 
tion to Leesburg, 38 ; at BaU's 
Bluff, 39-42. 

Ball's Bluff, battle of, 38-42. 

Banner, the Christian, among 
soldiers, 248. 

Banks, Gen., assumes command 
after Patterson, 17 ; observes 
President's Fast, 26 ; moves 
to Charlestown, 103 ; his fa- 
mous retreat, 150-161; plan of 
Banks and Fremont to attack 
Jackson, 151 ; his patriotism 
when superseded, 169; obeys 
orders at Cedar Mountain, 
196, note; his promptness, 
207; his personal traits, 215. 

Banks, Mrs. N. P., her " recep- 
tion " at Frederick, 79 ; kind- 
ness to soldiers, 79. 

BarnesvUle, Md., 66. 

Barton, G. M., 334. 

BartonsvUle, 167. 

Baxter, Capt., Ninth Mississippi, 
340. 

Baylor, Capt., his murder of ^Ir. 
Rohr, 110. 

Bealeton, Banks's corps at, 202, 
(399) 



400 



INDEX. 



203 ; Second Massachusetts at, 
327, 343. 

Belle Plain, 288. 

Bellbuckle, village of, 367. 

Bennett, Surgeon, at Cedar 
Mountain, 190. 

Berryville, 104, 105 ; Northern 
people in, 109. 

Best, Capt., chief of artillery to 
Gen. Slocuni, 308. 

Best's battery in Banks's retreat, 
152. 

Beverly Ford, Second Massachu- 
setts at, 327 ; action at, 328 ; its 
importance relative to battle 
of Gettysburg, 328, note. 

Bounties, injustice of, 177. 

Boonsboro', Md., 200, 206. 

Braddock, Gen., his barracks at 
Frederick, 82. 

Bramhall, Lieut., at Ball's Bluff, 
■ 40-42. 

Brandy Station, 328. 

BrentsviUe, 200, 207. 

Bridgeport, road to, from Chat- 
tanooga, held by rebels, 372,373. 

Bristow Station, Gen. Banks at, 
200, 207. 

Broad River, 206. 

Brown, John, his career and its 
results, 28-35 ; his court- 
room, 101. 

Bruceville, 329. 

Buckeyetown, 56. 

Bunker Hill, 15, 17, 105 ; Gor- 
don's brigade at, 158. 

Burke, Capt., the guerilla, killed, 
231. 

Burke's Station, 263. 

Burnham, Samuel, Preface. 



Burnside, Gen., drives enemy at 
Frederick, 202 ; at South Moun- 
tain, 214; at Antietam, 219. 
Cambridge, 0., 360. 
Camp Hicks, 62, 69. 
Canby, Gen., in command at Xcw 

York, 324. 
Carleton, his account of battle of 

Antietam, 216. 
Carter's Creek, 179. 
Cary, Capt., in charge of men for 

Western gunboats, 93. 
Casey, Surgeon, at battle of 

Chancellorville, 303. 
Catoctin range crossed by Union 

troops, 212. 
Cedar Creek, crossed by the 

Second Massachusetts, on way 

to Strasburg, 121. 
Cedar Mountain, battle of, 185- 

194. 
Centreville, held by Gen. Banks's 

corps, after battle of Cedar 

Mountain, 199 ; position of 

enemy at 208. 
Charabersburg, Patterson's forces 

assembled at, 14 ; gifts from 

ladies of 233. 
Chancellorville, battle of, 296- 

306. 
Chaplains, injustice to, 384. 
Chappel, Surgeon, at Cedar 

Mountain, 196, 319. 
Charlestown, Va., Second Mas- 
sachusetts at, 29, 98. 
Chattanooga, incidents at, 385- 

397. 
Chester Gap, 163. 
Chickamauga, battle of, 369, 370. 
Christian Commission, the, 242, 



INDEX. 



401 



243; stations of, 288, 363, 
364. 

Christiana, village of, 367, 371. 

Clarksburg, 56. 

Clem, Sergeant Johnny, 391. 

Cogswell, Capt., a party under; 
kills the guerilla Burke, 231. 

Cogswell, Col., at Ball's Bluff, 
40-42. 

Colgrove, Col., at battle of Chan- 
cellorville, 300. 

Colored troops, their good quali- 
ties, 381-382. 

Confiscation necessary, 49. 

Conrad's Ferry, march thither 
and return, 36, 55, 62. 

Conscription, its justness, 179. 

Corthren, Capt., in movement to 
Strasburg, 122. 

Corthren's battery, in Banks's 
retreat, 152 ; silences enemy 
on the Rappahannock, 198. 

Couch, Gen., 211. 

Crawford, Gen., crosses the Rap- 
idan for Cedar Mountain, 185; 
his position at battle of Cedar 
Mountain, 186 ; charge of his 
brigade at Cedar Mountain, 
187-188 ; wounded at Antie- 
tam, 219, 7iote. 

Cudworth, Rev. W. H., 292. 

Damascus. 211. 

Darnestown, 9, 14, 19, 23, 28, 
43, 55 ; described, 56-65. 

Davis, Col., mortally wounded, 
328. 

Decherd, 364. 

Devens, Col., at Ball's Bluff, 39. 

Dewitt, Surgeon W. R., 277. 

De Wolf, Surgeon, 342. 
34* 



Diehl, Rev. George, 71. 
Distances from Chattanooga to 

the North, 378. 
Donelly, Col., his brigade in 

Banks's retreat, 137, 143, 150 

-161. 
Dorchester, gift of books from, 

266. 
Dover, N. H., 314. 
Drainsville, 329. 
Duck River, 392. 
Dumfries, action at, 262. 
Dwight, Major Wilder, 123; 

killed at Antietam, 220, 221. 
Edinburgh, Va., 121. 
Edwards's Ferry, 36, 37, 42, 329. 
Eleventh corps at Chancellor- 

ville, 297-306 ; reenforces Gen. 

Rosecrans, 352 ; its bravery in 

Tennessee, 376. 
Elk River (see Alisonia), 365, 

374. 
Emancipation, 169-172. 
Erricson, the steamer, 324. 
Estell Springs, 372. 
Fairfax, 200. 

Fairfax Court House, 209. 
Fairfax Station, 248, 255, 257, 

261. 
Falling Waters, action at, 14 ; 

Gen. Gordon's brigade at, 158. 
Falmouth, 288, 327. 
Fast Day, the President's, 26. 
Fifth New York, its love for 

horse-flesh, 168. 
Fifth Connecticut, 27 ; at Win- 
chester, 154-156, 348. 
Fifteenth Pennsylvania, 21. 
Fifteenth Massachusetts, at Ball's 

Bluff', 37, 39, 40-42. 



402 



INDEX. 



Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, com- 
manded by Col. Shaw, 280. 

First Pennsylvania battery, 20. 

First Tennessee, colored, 381. 

First California, at Ball's BlufT, 
39-40. 

First Massachusetts, 202. 

First Maryland, guards Front 
Royal, 151. 

Foster & Peabody, their boots, 
368. 

Fowle, John A., his labors for 
soldiers, 208 ; his free library, 
266. 

Fox, Rev. Thomas B., his efficien- 
cy as government agent, 385. 

Fredericksburg, the defeat at, 
256. 

Frederick, 55 ; life near, 62 ; 
described, 70 ; evacuated, by 
the enemy, and occupied by 
Burnside, 211,212. 

Free Library, soldiers', 266. 

Fremont, Gen., dreaded by the 
rebels, 175 ; drives Stonewall 
Jackson, 230 ; his proposed 
attack with Gen. Banks upon 
Stonewall Jackson, 151. 

Front Royal, guarded by First 
Maryland, 151, 156, 158, 159. 

Gaines's Cross Roads, 180. 

Gainesville, 203, 205, 206. 

Gaylord, Chaplain, 27; with the 
wounded, 209. 

Geary, Col., at Leesburg, 105 ; 
at Cedar Mountain, 186 ; 
(Gen.) leads Second Division 
towards Chancellorville, 298, 
329. 

Georgetown, 40. 



Gcrmanna Ford, action at, 297. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 321. 

Goodman, Surgeon, at Aquia 
Creek, 308. 

Goose Creek, 329. 

Gordon, Col., -in charge at Har- 
per's Ferry, 17 ; reconnois- 
sance towards Charlestown, 99, 
104 ; qualities as an officer, 
108 ; his command in Banks's 
retreat, 150-161 ; position at 
battle of Cedar Mountain, 186 ; 
at battle of Cedar Mountain, 
185, 194; at Antietam, 219, 
note; guards Potomac near 
Sharpsburg, 225. 

Gorman, Gen., at Berryville, 105. 

Grant, Gen., first impressions of, 
368, 369. 

Greene, Col., at Cedar Mountain, 
186. 

Gregg, Gen., at action of Bever- 
ly Ford, 328. 

Halleck, Gen., his appointment 
as general-in-chief, 174. 

Hamilton, Brig. Gen., transferred 
to Gen. Heintzelman's com- 
mand, 108. 

Hancock, 76 ; skirmish at, 80. 

Harper's Ferry, occupied, 16 ; 
funeral at, 21, 31. 

Harris, Capt. Ira, 334. 

Harrisonburg, 140. 

Harrison's Island, 42. 

Hartsuff, Gen., wounded at An- 
tietam, 220. 

Hartwood church, 297. 

Hatch, Gen., with cavalry in 
Banks's retreat, 151, 

Hawley, Col., 200. 



INDEX. 



403 



Heath, Alice, her gift to the sol- 
diers, 26G. 

Heath, Surgeon, 303, 367. 

Hedgeman's River, 179. 

Heintzelman, Gen., 108. 

Hicks, Camp, 62, 69. 

Hillsborough, 250. 

Hoag, J., 334. 

Holman, Rev. Calvin, 390. 

Hooker, Gen., drives enemy from 
Manassas Junction, 200 ; at 
South Mountam, 214 ; at An- 
tietam, 218, 219; commands 
Army of the Potomac, 272 ; 
qualities as commander, 281 ; 
masterly movement from Fal- 
mouth to Gettysburg, 327. 

Hovey, W. A., 334. 

Howard, Gen., 288. 

Howe, Col. Frank, 325. 

Hyattstown, 56. 

Ijamsville, 211. 

Indianapolis, 362. 

Jackson, Stonewall, at battle of 
Kernstown, 115; campaigns 
with Gen. Pope, 195-209; 
his lack of fighting qualities, 
230 ; beaten by Gen. Lander, 
230 ; his death, 304 ; resume 
of his operations, 305. 

Jamaica Plain, gift of books 
from, 266. 

Jeflerson, 329. 

Jeffersonville, 362. 

Johnson, J. AVarner, 334. 

Johnson, Gen. Andrew, addresses 
a crowd at Nashville, 369. 

Johnston, Gen., his campaign 
with Patterson, 15-19. 

Keedysville, Md., 216. 



Kelly's Ford, 297, 321. 
Kendall, Surgeon, killed at An- 

tietam, 220. 
Kenly, Col., guards Front Royal, 

151 ; routed, 151. 
Kernstown, battle of, 115. 
Kettle Run, 343. 
Kimball, Col., at battle of Kerns- 
town, 116. 
Kimball, Brig. Gen., drives Stone- 
wall Jackson, 230. 
King, Dr., medical director in 

Gen. Reynolds's corps, brutal 

actions of, 221. 
Kingwood Tunnel, 359. 
Lacy Mansion, the, 291. 
Lander, Gen., skirmish by, 91 ; 

foils Stonewall Jackson, 230. 
Lasher, Chaplain, 27. 
Lawrence, Rev. Mr., agent of 

Christian Commission, 363. 
Lee, Col. W. R., atBall's Bluff, 39. 
Lee, Gen., at Manassas, 231. 
Leesburg, 38, 51, 251. 
Leland, Surgeon, in charge of 

hospital at Winchester, 160. 
Lewis, Dr. Dio, his gymnasium, 

288. 
Little Washington, Va., 179. 
Littleston, 329. 
Lookout Mountain, 370. 
Loring, Harrison, steamboat 

builder, 323, 340. 
Loudon Heights, 249. 
Luray, 181, 
Mansfield, Gen., commands in 

place of Gen. Banks, 215 ; at 

Antietam, 217. 
Martin sburg, 76, 155. 
Masanutten Range, 159. 



404 



INDEX. 



Mason, Ex-Senator, his house, 
&c., 109. 

Maulsby, Col., 104, 

Merrimack, steamer, 323. 

McClellan, Gen., takes command, 
42 ; at Charlestown, 100 ; feel- 
ing of soldiers towards, 200; 
restored to command, 210 ; re- 
moval of, 223 ; course after 
Antietam, 224. 

McDowell, Gen., 203 ; move- 
ments after battle of Cedar 
Mountain, 195-206 ; useless 
at Cedar Mountain, 186. 

McMainsville, 365. 

McNulty, Surgeon, 303, 319. 

McReading, Rev. Mr., 112. 

Middleway, 215. 

Middlebrook, 211. 

Middletown Valley, 213. 

Milford, Mass., people from at 
Winchester, 109. 

Mississippi, the steamer, 327. 

Monocacy, the river, 329. 

Morell, Gen., 225. 

Mount Jackson, 136. 

Muddy Branch, 42 ; Banks's di- 
vision at, 51. 

Mudge, Major, 280. 

Murfreesboro', 357. 

Murray, N., Jr., 334. 

Nashville, Tenn., 362. 

New Baltimore, 203. 

New England Rooms at New 
York, 325. 

Newmarket, Va., 134, 138. 

Newtown, skirmish at, 152, 156. 

Nineteenth Massachusetts, at 
Ball's Bluff, 39. 

Ninth New York, 40-42, 73, 



Occoquan Creek, forded by 
Banks's troops, 200, 207, 262. 

Paint Rock, the steamer, 390. 

Park bai-racks, 320. 

Patterson Gen., his campaign, 
14-19 ; relieved, 17 ; results 
of his failure, 141. 

Petersville, 329. 

Philipse mansion, the, 291. 

Phillips, Chaplain, 27, 75. 

Pleasanton, Gen., his movement 
across the Rappahannock, 313. 

Point of Rocks, 51, 65. 

Poolesville, 37, 56. 

Pope, D. S., 334. 

Pqjje, Gen., movements under, 
162-184; his retreat, 195-209; 
his orders to Gen. Banks, 196. 

Porter, Gen. Fitz-John, 343. 

Port Hudson, 227. 

Prince, Col., at Cedar Mountain, 
186. 

Proclamation, the President's, 
234-237. 

Quincy, Col., 279. 

Raccoon Ford, 345. 

Railways from Chattanooga to 
the North, 378. 

Rappahannock, the skirmishing 
on, 198. 

Rapidan, the river, advance of 
army to, from the Rappahan- 
nock, 344 ; its course, 344. 

Reading matter for the army, 
244, 245. 

Reed, Dr., of Sanitary Commis- 
sion, 391. 

Reed, Chaplain, 27. 

Relief of Massachusetts soldiers, 
society for, 242. 



INDEX. 



405 



Reno, Gen., joins Pope's forces, 
198. 

Reynolds, Gen., 221. 

Ricketts, Gen., 206. 

Rock Creek, 329. 

Rockville, 57, 58, 210. 

Rogers, Gen., at Chancellorville, 
298. 

Rohr, Mr., murdered by Capt. 
Baylor, 110. 

Rood's HiU, 136, 137, 138. 

Rosecrans, Gen., 367, 393. 

Ruger, Brig. Gen., 322, 323. 

Salem, Mass^ 313. 

Sampson, Capt., of the Merri- 
mack, 324. 

Sampson, Purser, of the Missis- 
sippi, 340. 

Sandy Hook, 51. 

Sanitary arrangements in camp, 
51, 54. 

Sanitary Commission, the, 241, 
313, 333-336, 387, 388. 

Sargent, M. H., 94. 

Savage, Major James, death of, 
225. 

Second Massachusetts, at Har- 
per's Ferry, 17 ; its composi- 
tion, 20; reconnoissance to- 
wards Charlestown, 99 ; leave 
Edinburgh, 134; to Newmar- 
ket, 138, 140; leaves Har- 
risonburg, 141 ; in Banks's re- 
treat, 150-161 ; at Winchester, 
153-155; occupy Front Royal, 
160 ; in Gen. Pope's campaign, 
162-184; from Williamsport 
to Gaines's Cross Roads, 167 ; 
from Warrenton to Little 
Washington, 179 ; battle of 



Cedar Mountain, 185, 194 ; in 
Pope's retreat, 195, 209 ; in 
the Antietam autumn, 210- 
239 ; on picket duty, 226, 227 ; 
enter Virginia the fourth time, 
249 ; under Gen. Hooker, 279 ; 
battle of Chancellorville, 296- 
306 ; its third year of service, 
306 ; in Gen. Pleasanton's 
movement, 313 ; at Park bar- 
racks, 320-337; leaves New 
York, 337 ; to and in Ten- 
nessee, 352-398 ; return home, 
398. 

Second Michigan, 98. 

Second Kentucky battery, 380. 

Sedgwick, Gen., 103 ; carries 
Fredericksburg Heights, 306. 

Seneca, 50, 55 ; the sick at, 93. 

Sergeant's Memorial, the, 247. 

Sewall, Chaplain, 27. 

Seymour, Rev. Charles, 72. 

Sharpsburg, Md., 221, 225, 226, 
230, 246. 

Shaw, Col. R. G., 280. 

Shelbyville, 366. 

Shenandoah Valley, the, move- 
ments in, 98-149 ; described, 
159. 

Shields, Gen., 105 ; at battle of 
Kernstown, 115; detached 
from Gen. Banks's corps, 

Sigel, Gen., at Winchester, 158, 
145. 
203, 259. 

Sixteenth Indiana, 20, 68. 

Slave code of District of Colum- 
bia, exposed by Hon. Henry 
Wilson, 332. 

Slave property to be seized, 235. 



406 



INDEX. 



Slaves used by the rebels, 235, 
237. 

Slocum, Gen., 267; at Stafford 
Court House, 274. 

Smithfield, 105. 

Smith, Rev. E. P., agent of 
Christian Commission, 288, 363. 

Smoketown hospital, 253. 

Snicker's Ferry, 122. 

Soest, Col. Clemens, 334. 

South Mountain, battle of, 213, 
214. 

Sperryville, 181. 

Spooner, J. A., 391. 

Spott Tavern, Second Massachu- 
setts at, 327. 

Stafford Court House, 274, 276, 
285, 286, 312. 

Stearns, Adjutant, Life of, 247. 

Steiner, Dr., 334. 

Stephensburg, 152, 345. 

Stetson, Mr., of the Astor House, 
his kindness, 338. 

Stevenson, Ala., Christian Com- 
mission at, 363. 

Stone, Brig. Gen., 20; at Ed- 
wards's Ferry, 37, 51. 

Stone, Dr. Lincoln R, 65, 83, 
280. 

Stoneman's Switch, 288. 

Stone River battle-field, 362. 

Strasburg, Va., 114, 144 ; Banks's 
corps retires to, 151 ; position 
in the Shenandoah, 159 ; held 
by Fremont, 159. 

Stuart, Gen., the rebel, driven by 
Gen. Gregg, 328. 

Sturgis, Gen., at South Moun- 
tain, 213. 

Subjugation necessary, 47, 48. 



Sullivan, Gen., in the Shenan- 
doah Valley, 146. 

Sumner, Gen., 210; at South 
Mountain, 214 ; Antietam, 
219. 

Sumner, Charles, his usefulness, 
277 ; ambulance system, 330. 

Swalm, Dr. W. S., 334. 

Tammany regiment, 39 ; at 
Ball's Bluff, 40-42. 

Tenallytown, 210. 

Tenth Kentucky, 390. 

Tenth Maine, 289. 

Third Maryland, 347, 348. 

Third Wisconsin, at Winchester, 
153-155 ; at Cedar Mountain, 
187, 188, 249 ; at Chancellor- 
ville, 297-300, 322, 325, 327; 
leaves New York, 337, 346. 

Thirteenth Massachusetts, 27, 
140, 168, 203. 

Thu'teenth Pennsylvania, 27, 68. 

Thirteenth New Jersey, 344. 

Thiity-third Massachusetts at 
Bristow Station, 343, 376. 

Thompson, Col., of first Ten- 
nessee, 381. 

Tolman, Rev. Mr., donation from 
his church, 94. 

Tract Society, 242. 

Treason at the North, 282-284. 

Tryford, Surgeon, 303. 

Tullahoma, 365. 

Twelfth Indiana, 20. 

Twelfth Massachusetts, 20, 68, 
72, 76, 140, 168, 203 ; at An- 
tietam, 220. 

Twelfth New Hampshire, 311. 

Twelfth corps at Chancellorville, 
297, 306 ; its ambulance sys- 



INDEX. 



407 



tem, 319 ; at Kelly's Ford, 321 ; 

reenforces Rosecrans, 352. 
Twentieth Connecticut, 303. 
Twentieth Massachusetts, 39 ; at 

Ball's Bluff, 40-42; under 

Gen. Hooker, 279. 
Twenty-second Michigan, 391. 
Twenty-eighth New York, in 

Banks's retreat, 152. 
Twenty-seventh Indiana, 143, 

152 ; at Winchester, 153-155 ; 

at Chancellorville, 297-300, 

322, 327. 
Twenty-ninth, Pennsylvania, 27 ; 

at Winchester, 154. 
Twenty-ninth New York, 334. 
Two Taverns, 329. 
Underwood, Col,, wounded, 376. 
United States Ford, 298. 
Warrenton, 166 ; evacuation of, 

203. 
Wartrace, colored troops at, 380. 
Washington, Va., 172. 
Washington, D. C, visit to, 264- 

267. 
Waterville, 329. 
Webster, Col. Fletcher, incident 

concerning, 204. 
Welsh, Chaplain, 348. 



Wightman, Surgeon, 303. 

Williams, Gen., in command of 
Third brigade, 80 ; at Antie- 
tam, 218, 219 ; character of 
his troops, 305, 355. 

Williamsport Ford, crossed by 
Patterson, 14, 51, 150, 155 5 
Gordon's brigade at, 158. 

Wilmington, Mass., donation 
from, 94. 

Wilson, Henry, the ambulance 
system, 330 ; his exposure of 
slave code of District of Col- 
umbia, 332. 

Winchester, the failure at, 9, 35, 
103 ; movement upon, 104, 
evacuated by Jackson, 107 ; 
described, 108 ; fight at in 
Banks's retreat, 153-155; hos- 
pital labor at, 160 ; barbarism 
of the inhabitants, 161. 

Wolf Run Shoals, 262. 

World, the New York, its false 
account of Banks's retreat, 
157. 

Xenia, hospitality of its ladies, 
361. 

Zanesville, 360. 



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